Trojan Shield: Police give criminals encrypted coms

[Gravlen]

And monitors it in real time, leading to raids and hundreds of arrests today (About 800 worldwide so far). This seems like an example of good police work.

Phantom Secure, a Canadian company that had taken BlackBerry phones and stripped out the cameras, microphones and navigation features and installed encrypted messaging software which made them difficult for law enforcement to track, was shut down in 2018. That left an underground marketplace
yearning for encrypted communication devices.

In typical australian fashion, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) came up with a plan over a couple of beers. What if they gave the criminals exactly what they wanted?

The FBI had such an app available. Installed on a phone with no other capability, and it would meet the demands of the underground matketplace.

Of course, there was a challenge: How could you make the criminal elements want to use your app? The obvious answer, as anyone who've ever encountered social media would know: You get influencers to hawk it for you.

To get them in the hands of unsuspecting criminals, the AFP and FBI were influenced by social media stars.

Authorities used "criminal influencers" to unwittingly push the "crystal ball" devices.

The AFP used undercover agents to give trusted underworld figures, like NSW fugitive and drug trafficker Hakan Ayik, devices so they could spruik and distribute them without knowing that encrypted messages were visible to law enforcement.

To get a phone with AN0M, you had to know someone who had one and then you had to pay a monthly fee to the syndicates that were then handing them out.

The method of "high-profile" organised crime figures vouching for the app, made usage of the devices grow in popularity and trust.

Notice that second-to-last paragraph there, by the way. Not only were underworld figures tricked into communicating via an encrypted app designed by police, they paid subscription fees for the pleasure as well.

11,000 users talking openly about criming, while the police could monitor them. Impressive.

Officers were able to read millions of messages in "real time" describing murder plots, mass drug import plans and other schemes.

"All they talk about is drugs, violence, hits on each other, innocent people who are going to be murdered, a whole range of things," said Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw.

Police said they uncovered 21 murder plots and seized more than 3,000 kilograms of drugs and $45 million in cash and assets.

How the AFP and FBI cooked up the idea of AN0M over a 'couple of beers
Australian Federal Police and FBI nab criminal underworld figures in worldwide sting using encrypted app

There you have it, and I guess the question is, what kind of social media stars are you following? Have you ever been persuaded by influencers to buy something, use something, or do something? Have you ever paid someone to surveil you?

I have to admit that for my own part, I'm one of the luddites who don't have Twitter or Instagram, and have stopped using Facebook, so I don't really follow any influencers, criminal or otherwise...

[Colonalia]

I only use social media to keep up with what my friends and fam are up to. And to browse memes, naturally.

[New Jacobland]

Saw this on the news. It is interesting the way they've taken down these criminals. I don't know about how ethical this is but at least it is good that these murders and drug deals have been foiled.

[Wallenburg]

Doesn't literally every messaging service of even middling reputation encrypt user data?

[Avaerilon]

I've always been wary of influencers and the products they hawk, so I'll continue to be cautious. However, I must admit the idea is very clever. It does certainly show how vulnerable many people are to what they see, hear, and follow on social media, even supposedly hardened criminals. Moreover, people really do have a lax approach to security and apps in general, as demonstrated by this. One would think criminals would be more careful, and perhaps they are with certain things, but like many other people, the combination of a different sense of security and the power of influencers has overcome those potential barriers. I imagine Stringer Bell would cringe if he could see this, and McNulty would be laughing his head off.

[Grinning Dragon]

I always thought the shuttering of Phantom Secure was on dubious grounds at best. I fail to see what was so "illegal" about what Phantom Secure was doing.

[Ovstylap]

It's interesting that this has gone public, as surely now it's going to end up being back to square one in terms of how they can track and prevent crimes. It literally sounds like the sort of thing I'd have done in Ovstylap if I ever actually worldbuild it.

[Gravlen]

Saw this on the news. It is interesting the way they've taken down these criminals. I don't know about how ethical this is but at least it is good that these murders and drug deals have been foiled.

Questions about ethics can be interesting, but what possibly unethical thing are you seeing taking place here?

[Thermodolia]

*Le snip*

Does anyone else think it’s kinda dumb that the police just busted themselves?

There you have it, and I guess the question is, what kind of social media stars are you following? Have you ever been persuaded by influencers to buy something, use something, or do something? Have you ever paid someone to surveil you?

Nope. I have no social media presence. No Facebook or anything

[Luziyca]

Saw this on the news. It is interesting the way they've taken down these criminals. I don't know about how ethical this is but at least it is good that these murders and drug deals have been foiled.

Definitely.

While such a strategy definitely has led to the arrests of hundreds of suspects in a criminal organisation, I feel that this idea might spread to countries who don't have as many qualms of crushing political opponents as Australia or the United States, where authorities would offer apps to dissidents to communicate with each other "freely" while they monitor them until a critical mass is reached, and then bam, they would be arrested.

[USS Monitor]

Saw this on the news. It is interesting the way they've taken down these criminals. I don't know about how ethical this is but at least it is good that these murders and drug deals have been foiled.

Definitely.

While such a strategy definitely has led to the arrests of hundreds of suspects in a criminal organisation, I feel that this idea might spread to countries who don't have as many qualms of crushing political opponents as Australia or the United States, where authorities would offer apps to dissidents to communicate with each other "freely" while they monitor them until a critical mass is reached, and then bam, they would be arrested.

China already has a fake VPN run by the government.

[Gravlen]

*Le snip*

Does anyone else think it’s kinda dumb that the police just busted themselves?

I don't know if they had a real choice in the matter. If they wanted to prosecute people based on the content of the messages, they would have to show the messages and explain how they got a hold of them. The methods used would be explained in publicly available court documents.

[Wallenburg]

Saw this on the news. It is interesting the way they've taken down these criminals. I don't know about how ethical this is but at least it is good that these murders and drug deals have been foiled.

Questions about ethics can be interesting, but what possibly unethical thing are you seeing taking place here?

Fraud and mass surveillance come to mind.

[Austreylia]

Questions about ethics can be interesting, but what possibly unethical thing are you seeing taking place here?

Fraud and mass surveillance come to mind.

Every single communication that law enforcement intercepted on this an0m was in relation to illegal activity.

[Esthe]

I knew someone would make a thread on this. Crime is bad, kids! It puts you in jail!

[Wallenburg]

Fraud and mass surveillance come to mind.

Every single communication that law enforcement intercepted on this an0m was in relation to illegal activity.

Yeah...that's not true.

[Gravlen]

Questions about ethics can be interesting, but what possibly unethical thing are you seeing taking place here?

Fraud and mass surveillance come to mind.

Fraud... Because they legally have to tell you they're police if you ask them?

[Forsher]

Fraud and mass surveillance come to mind.

Fraud... Because they legally have to tell you they're police if you ask them?

I mean, it does kinda seem like false advertising.

There's probably an NS Issue in here, actually.

This is an outrage! The Police developed an application and then lied about its functionality to shift units. We at the @nation Consumer Rights Bureau will not stand for this, we demand @leader brings its agencies to heel. False advertising is a plague on society!

Or something. I don't write issues.

[Cannot think of a name]

Wasn't this a plot thread in The Wire? Where they sold pre-tapped pre-paid cell phones or something?

What's the warrant situation in something like this? Is it open ended, like "anyone who wants this specific app is suspect?' What if I had gotten it to sext a girlfriend or something, would my privacy been violated to cast this wide net?

I mean, overall, pretty clever. Just wondering how comfortable with warrantless surveillance I want to be.

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

*Le snip*

Does anyone else think it’s kinda dumb that the police just busted themselves?

No, they couldn't allow murders to happen just so they could keep the surveillance going.

[Forsher]

Wasn't this a plot thread in The Wire? Where they sold pre-tapped pre-paid cell phones or something?

Yes.

[Unstoppable Empire of Doom]

It's funny how small time dealers are smart about this shit but apparently the higher ups can't chew bubblegum and walk at the same time. I mean you don't need encryption when you use a prepaid throwaway and use slang. Inb4 some says the cops know slang. They do but not localized slang.