Moscow schools use interactive whiteboards for covert audio surveillance

Software installed on interactive whiteboards in Moscow schools is being used to secretly record students and teachers during lessons. The software allows the city’s Department of Information Technology to remotely activate built-in microphones, capture classroom audio, and upload the files to central servers without notifying users.

Technical analysis of the software, which includes an RPM package named “mesh-agent-lesson-log”, shows that the program operates as a background process. It polls a central server for instructions every ten minutes, records audio, and subsequently deletes the local copy from the device to avoid detection.

Evidence suggests the software was originally named “Lesson Audio Recording Agent” before being renamed to the more neutral “Lesson Support Agent” or “Agent supporting lesson delivery”. Researchers have identified traces of the software in at least three different schools, with installation and update logs indicating activity between August and October 2026.