Not long ago, Europol, NCA, the French National Gendarmerie, and a joint investigative team formed with the participation of France and the Netherlands conducted a joint special operation aimed at compromising EncroChat servers through the 'installation of technical devices' on servers in France.(1), to gain the ability to 'compute and identify criminals through the analysis of millions of messages and hundreds of thousands of images.'(2)
Some time after the operation, EncroChat, upon discovering the breach, sent a message to users recommending to 'immediately disconnect and dispose of your devices.'
In the United Kingdom alone, 746 suspects were arrested, and there were confiscated:
- Over £54,000,000 in cash.
- 77 firearms, including AK47s (note: this is an AKM), submachine guns, pistols, 4 grenades, and more than 1,800 rounds of ammunition.
- More than two tons of Class A and B narcotic substances.
- Over 28 million Etizolam tablets (commonly known as 'street diazepam').
- 55 luxury cars and 73 high-end watches.
EncroChat was a set of software and hardware (modified smartphones) designed for communication with 'guaranteed anonymity, end-to-end encryption, a modified Android platform, dual operating system, “self-destructing messages”, a “panic button”, data destruction after multiple incorrect password attempts, secure boot, disabled ADB, and recovery mode.'(3)
At the time of its shutdown, the EncroChat platform had tens of thousands of users (≈ 60,000) from various countries, including the Russian Federation. The cost of modified smartphones was £1,000, and the software was £1,500 for a six-month contract.
Source: linux.org.ru
