Cyber & Technology

Drones to Diplomas: How Russia’s Largest Private University is Linked to a $25M Essay Mill

January 22, 2026 at 01:46Z
BIAS: Center
RELIABILITY: Very High

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Current source: Center. Stories with cross-spectrum coverage receive elevated prominence.

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Current source: Very High. Higher reliability sources receive elevated weighting in story prioritization.

Krebs on Security
14:45Z

A sprawling academic cheating network turbocharged by Google Ads that has generated nearly $25 million in revenue has curious ties to a Kremlin-connected oligarch whose Russian university builds drones for Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Nerdify homepage. The link between essay mills and Russian attack drones might seem improbable, but understanding it begins with a simple question: How does a human-intensive academic cheating service stay relevant in an era when students can simply ask AI to write their term papers? The answer – recasting the business as an AI company – is just the latest chapter in a story of many rebrands that link the operation to Russia’s largest private university.

Search in Google for any terms related to academic cheating services — e.g., “help with exam online”

Source Assessment

Political Bias
Center
Reliability
Very High

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