A "TSG [Tiangou Secure Gateway] solution review description" document confirms
that Geedge Networks was to provide MOTC with both the hardware and software
required to successfully implement extensive surveillance and censorship.
Contractual arrangements between Geedge Networks and the Myanmar military
junta include TSG Centralized Management, Network Zodiac for system operation
and maintenance, and Cyber Narrator for supporting what internal datasets refer to
as "hunting" the IP addresses of evasive proxies. According to Geedge Networks’
review document to the MOTC, all software programs have "long-term
authorization" and come with a three-year free of cost warranty which is specified
to include monthly system updates and the deployment of Geedge technicians in
Myanmar. Hardware warranties and express delivery of spare parts are also
accounted for. After the initial warranty has expired, the MOTC is expected to
purchase an additional warranty and technical support package, which includes the
deployment of two Geedge Networks engineers to Myanmar for on-site technical
support.
The dataset provides new detail about Geedge Networks products deployed in
Myanmar and elsewhere.
Tiangou Secure Gateway (TSG)
TSG is the central tool in the Geedge Networks' surveillance and censorship
arsenal, consisting of hardware and software to manage, surveil and block internet
traffic, comparable to China's “Great Firewall”, one of the largest and most
sophisticated online censorship operations in the world.28
TSG provides monitoring and filtering capabilities of internet traffic, including
internet-based telephone traffic. This provides the junta with extensive visibility of
internet traffic in Myanmar, while also facilitating the identification and blocking of
web content and applications. Within the data set is a list of 55 priority apps for
blocking that Geedge provided to the Myanmar junta, including popular VPNs and
the messaging app Signal.
According to the Geedge Networks website, "TSG performs deep packet inspection
on network traffic, classifies their content using a stream-based analysis engine,
and provides a simple, integrated security service".29 TSG's claimed features
include the ability to decrypt and inspect traffic between the server and client that is
encrypted with secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TLS)
encryption protocols.30 One way it does this is by monitoring and skipping security
12