Telegram BGP Route Leak Disrupted Access Beyond India’s Ban, Analysts Say
Summary
A temporary Indian Telegram ban coincided with an AS18101 route hijack that leaked globally through FLAG Telecom, disrupting access in the UAE. Analysts confirmed the route leak but said evidence does not establish deliberate sabotage; MTProto proxies can restore access
Key points
- India ordered a nationwide Telegram block through June 22 after allegations that the platform was used to distribute leaked NEET exam materials; a separate order disables message editing in India through June 30.
- Public routing data and network analysts reported that AS18101, registered to Reliance Communications, announced Telegram prefixes that leaked globally through FLAG Telecom (AS15412), disrupting access beyond India, including in the UAE.
- Doug Madory and other researchers confirmed the route hijack; RPKI validation and filtering limited how far the route propagated.
- Telegram CEO Pavel Durov alleged deliberate sabotage. Researchers cited in the article said the evidence does not establish intent and described a misconfigured domestic block leaking routes globally as more likely.
- Telegram’s built-in MTProto proxy can route around network-level blocking. The article cautions that proxy operators may see connecting IP addresses and connection times, though they cannot read messages.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Temporary government blocking of Telegram in India, accompanied by a reported BGP route leak that disrupted access beyond India.
- Impact
- India blocked Telegram nationwide through June 22 and separately ordered its message-editing feature disabled in India through June 30. The reported route leak affected users outside India, including in the UAE. Analysts confirmed the routing disruption but disputed Pavel Durov's allegation that it was deliberate; its intent and who triggered it remain unestablished. The block also cut students off from Telegram-based study materials and paid coaching groups.
People
Anurag BhatiaNetwork researcher who independently verified the routing incident using public routing data.Doug MadoryDirector of Internet Analysis at Kentik who confirmed that AS18101 hijacked Telegram's routes and noted that RPKI validation and filtering limited the route's propagation.Pavel DurovTelegram CEO who accused Reliance of deliberately disrupting Telegram access outside India through BGP hijacking; analysts disputed the claim of deliberate action, and the article says intent was not established.Pranesh PrakashTechnology policy researcher who traced the route leak via FLAG Telecom and said he saw no evidence of deliberate sabotage, favoring a misconfigured domestic block as the explanation.
Vendors
FLAG TelecomPranesh Prakash traced the mechanics in a thread: the route leaked to the global internet via FLAG Telecom (AS15412), a former RCom-owned transit provider that failed to drop the RPKI-invalid announcement,Reliance CommunicationsReliance Communications has engaged in BGP hijacking of Telegram’s IP prefixes and is leaking it globally via FLAG Telecom (AS15412) and affecting traffic far beyond India.
Products
TelegramIndia has temporarily banned Telegram until June 22 after the platform was allegedly used to distribute leaked NEET exam materials and facilitate cheating networks.WhatsAppQuestion papers were allegedly leaked before the May 3 exam through a paid WhatsApp group and coaching-centre networks in Rajasthan, with reports of a pre-circulated guess paper overlapping heavily with the real test.