Anom

Did you know the FBI Secretly Ran a Phone Network for Criminals? For years the FBI has secretly ran an encrypted communications app used by organized crime in order to surreptitiously collect its users’ messages and monitor criminals’ activity on a massive scale, according to a newly unsealed court document. In all, the elaborate operation netted more than 20 million messages from over 11,800 devices used by suspected criminals. It was called Anom. A criminal messaging service ran by the FBI.

Trapped

Usually the FBI would probably ask for information, but as a service provider you do not want to be the one known for sharing users data right…because no one would use your app. So next step I guess would be to try to crack into the encrypted information which is really hard. I mean that end to end encryption you see on whatsapp when someone changes their number, that’s not a walk in the park to get through.

Next move would be to shut down the apps. But that just meant the chat would go somewhere else, you may not even know where that somewhere is so your search for crime would have to start from scratch. This approach would not achieve optimum results. So they took it to the next level. The FBI Set up a covert operation called Operation Trojan Shield.

Therefore the FBI took control of a communications company called ‘Anom’ in its infancy and turned that into a wide-reaching honeypot, with the suspected criminal users instead coming to them. Anom has to stand for anonymous right? Or alludes to it. While in 2021 it came out that they shared this information with the Australian Federal Police aka the AFP. The AFP started making arrests immediately.

Taking them down

How did they infiltrate? Well check this for a cheeky move. In 2018, the FBI arrested Vincent Ramos, the CEO of Phantom Secure. Phantom Secure which provided custom, privacy-focused devices to organized criminals.

If we understand this correctly…by the way we are adding mad speculation here… they also arrested others. The FBI got some of the people distributing these devices…and ‘flipped’ them. Go them on to their side The authorities introduced Anom to his already trusted distributors of mobile devices, who were in turn trusted by criminal organisations. Three people in Australia who had previously distributed Phantom devices (another encrypted kind of phone) were promised a “huge payday,” if they agreed to then sell these Anom devices.This would allow the FBI to grow organically through through crime networks

The FBI and the AFP built the Anom system so that it allowed quote: “law enforcement to decrypt and store the message as it is transmitted,” The same government doc we are using as a source also says “A user of Anom is unaware of this capability,” So, they are slowly seeping in tot he messages of the underworld with a fake app and fake safe devices. imagine the intel they were getting. While they kept it looking legit too.

Motherboard found The company’s Reddit account where they first announced the existence of the company two years ago. In the now deleted post it says. “Introducing Anom—a Ultra-Secure Mobile-Cell-Phone Messaging App for Android,” the announcement read. “Your Confidentiality, Assured. Software hardened against targeted surveillance and intrusion—Anom Secure. Keep Secrets Safe!” 50 devices were distributed in Australia and the AFP were able to monitor the phones CONSTANTLY. It was slow at first, but soon word of the new devices spread, with Anom gathering several hundred users a year later.

HUGE amounts of data

Hundreds of criminal chats…imagine seeing hard core top level gangsters sharing cat memes or funny tik toks. At its peak the FBI was getting Anom user data three times a week. It kept growing having over 10,000 devices in over 90 countries. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Serbia were also popular, with over 300 distinct transnational criminal organizations aka TCOs using the devices. 20 million messages were pulled . Messages include discussions around drug smuggling, corruption, and other high-level organized criminal activities. The document we used as sourch also includes direct quotes of messages from Anom users discussing cocaine shipments.While of course they grabbed pics

The Trojan Shield investigation has uncovered that Anom devices are used by TCOs to traffic drugs and launder the proceeds of those drug sales,” the document reads. “The distributors of these devices also obstruct justice by remotely wiping the content of devices when law enforcement seizes them.

Public Corruption

Additionally, the review of Anom messages has initiated numerous high-level public corruption cases in several countries. The most prominent distributors are currently being investigated by the FBI for participating in an enterprise which promotes international drug trafficking, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.”

I think I read something about double agents who were actually wiping cirminal phones and getting arrested but I had to stop research as I ran out of time….but wow what a story….goes to show be careful what you pop in a message….you know the saying…whatever you pu ton the internet stays there….especially if you are selling 100s of kilos of cocaine…

(Vice)

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