The Security Services Archive is joining the programme of the international conference “Technology in the Service of Eastern Bloc State Security” organised by the Polish IPN Archive in Warsa on 9 June. The event focuses on the role of technology and modern technical means in the service of the repressive and intelligence apparatuses of Soviet bloc states. The conference brings together historians, archivists, political scientists, and security services experts, examining how the use of wiretapping, surveillance, and computing technology shaped the practice of state security in Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War and its aftermath.

The participation of the Security Services Archive in this event underlines the importance of archival sources for a critical understanding of how totalitarian regimes and their security institutions functioned. By engaging in expert debate on technologies used in the service of state control, the Archive contributes to the international exchange of experience, to a better understanding of the scope and mechanisms of population surveillance, and at the same time highlights the importance of open access to documents for historical reflection and the protection of democracy.