DIGITAL LIFE

The European police made many arrests, supported by the European data breach law

European police conducted a major operation, which resulted in many arrests of criminals. In the UK alone, 746 arrests have been made and dozens of organized criminal groups have been neutralized, in addition to GBP 54 million, 77 firearms and two tonnes of class A and B drugs have been confiscated. This was possible thanks to the hacking of Encrochat, a signature-based messaging system popular with professional criminals.
As the messages transmitted through Encrochat were encrypted on the mobile devices themselves, the police were unable to listen to the phones or intercept the messages, as is usually done. Using Encrochat, criminals openly agreed to their transactions in the smallest details, with price lists, customer names and links to a large number of drugs they sell.
Upon discovering that some of the EncroChat servers were located in the country, the French police broke into the network, installing a "technical device" to infiltrate. EncroChat was able to crack the encryption code in March, and in April law enforcement agencies were able to track hundreds of millions of encrypted messages sent over the Encrochat network by criminal elements. Unconscious criminals discussed future drug deals, money laundering schemes, robberies and planned murders.
In a statement sent to Motherboard by someone who controls the company's email address, Encrochat positions itself as a law-abiding company with customers in 140 countries, but criminal sources say that many Encrochat customers are criminals. French officials said they estimated that more than 90% of the company's French customers were "involved in criminal activities".
On one of its sites, Encrochat claims to offer a "comprehensive security solution" that can "guarantee anonymity" and that Encrochat messages are "the electronic equivalent of a normal conversation between two people in an empty room".
According to the company, there are many people who would like to use a secure connection, including security professionals or lawyers. The Encrochat website says it has resellers in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Madrid and Dubai, but the company is very private and does not function as a common technology company.
Encrochat offers “secure” phones, which, as explained by vice.com, are essentially modified Android devices. The company installs its own platform for encrypted messages, removes the functions of GPS, camera and microphone, adding the ability to erase data on the device using a PIN code. Two operating systems worked on the confiscated phones, one of which looks like a normal operating system to avoid suspicion. Encrochat used a subscription model worth thousands of dollars a year and until the last moment users thought the system was very reliable.

AVnews