Law enforcement around the world used a messaging app called AN0M to monitor the communications of alleged criminals
The Australian Federal Police (AFP), the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement agencies from 16 countries recently led a global crime bust that resulted in the arrests of more than 800 alleged criminals.
The sting – dubbed Operation Trojan Shield by the FBI and Operation Ironside by the AFP – came after almost three years’ worth of cooperation during which AFP and FBI developed and stealthily ran an encrypted messaging network called AN0M.
“The app AN0M was installed on mobile phones that were stripped of other capability. The mobile phones, which were bought on the black market, could not make calls or send emails. It could only send messages to another device that had the organised crime app. Criminals needed to know a criminal to get a device. The devices organically circulated and grew in popularity among criminals, who were confident of the legitimacy of the app because high-profile organised crime figures vouched for its integrity,” said the AFP.
By running AN0M on more than 12,000 encrypted devices, the authorities gained unique insights into the operations of more than 300 organized crime groups, including the Italian mafia, outlaw biker gangs, the Albanian mob, and international drug trafficking conglomerates. The app was distributed as a way to ‘fill the void’ after a coordinated strike took down Phantom Secure, an encrypted platform provider previously used by criminals.
“The goal of the new platform was to target global organised crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering organisations, regardless of where they operated, and offer an encrypted device with ..
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