Secret GRU Unit at Top Russian University Trained Future Hackers, Investigation Finds

Bauman Moscow State Technical University, one of Russia’s most prestigious educational institutions, is reportedly home to a secret department dedicated to training future hackers and information warfare specialists for the GRU , according to a joint investigation involving The Insider, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, Delfi, and VSquare.

Journalists obtained internal records from the university’s Military Training Center, specifically the 4th department known as Special Training.

The leaked documents include curricula, presentations, and lists of students and instructors from 2022 to 2024. This department remains hidden from the public and is not listed on the university’s official website.

The investigation reveals that carefully selected students are prepared for careers within the GRU. The training covers a wide range of cyber activities, including orchestrating hacker attacks, creating computer viruses, phishing, and breaching servers.

Practical assignments reportedly involve penetration testing using malware, while students are required to develop their own malicious software for their coursework.

Beyond technical hacking, the department offers lessons on espionage technologies such as phone tapping and hidden video surveillance. One of the courses is taught by Lieutenant Colonel Kirill Stupakov, who is alleged to have direct ties to GRU units. The documents also mention GRU officers linked to notorious hacking groups like Fancy Bear and Sandworm, including General Viktor Netyksho, who was previously accused by the United States of interfering in the 2016 elections.

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Graduates of this program are often recruited into GRU Military Unit 74455, which is associated with the Sandworm group. This unit has been linked to significant cyberattacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as the NotPetya virus that caused global disruptions.

The curriculum also extends to psychological and information operations. Students are taught to produce manipulative videos and run covert propaganda campaigns. One specific task required students to create a social video utilizing “manipulation, pressure, and hidden propaganda.”

Instruction at the university now incorporates data gathered during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Students study manuals based on the combat experiences of Russian special forces and analyze Western drones used by the Ukrainian military. Some seminars focus on the weaponry of the German Bundeswehr and the information security systems within Germany.

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In 2024 alone, the department reportedly trained over 1,500 reservists and more than 400 potential contract officers. The GRU maintains direct oversight of the recruitment and evaluation process, sending its own officers to conduct exams and approving candidates for future employment within the intelligence services. Students also complete internships at Russian defense enterprises, many of which are currently under international sanctions.

By May 2025, the Russian drone manufacturer Geoscan, which operated under international sanctions, had published the first drone piloting textbook specifically designed for children aged 13 to 15.

This initiative was part of a broader strategy where Russian authorities diverted toys, school textbooks, and video games to transform an entire generation into future military workers and drone operators.

To support this effort, the government allocated significant budgets to equip hundreds of schools and colleges with 3D printers, flight simulators, and FPV drones, while even kindergartens began introducing preschool children to piloting basics.

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