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WSJ: US intelligence agencies successfully use the messenger in investigations.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), despite the widespread use of Telegram by criminals, the messenger has become an important tool for law enforcement agencies to penetrate criminal groups even without cooperation with the platform's management. Over the past five years, US intelligence agencies have been able to prosecute many criminals using their own messages in open Telegram channels, which has made the messenger a "hunting ground" for law enforcement agencies, the newspaper writes.
The WSJ notes that before the advent of Telegram, criminals mainly used disparate forums on the dark web, inaccessible to ordinary users. Such forums could only be closed by a court decision, and it was difficult to track users. On Telegram, criminals often use the same account on different platforms, which allows investigators to draw up their "road map", explained former federal prosecutor Seth Gertz.
However, Evan Kohlmann, a counterterrorism consultant who worked for the FBI, believes that Telegram is still more convenient for criminals than for investigators. In his opinion, the findings of law enforcement agencies in Telegram are just a "drop in the ocean".
The WSJ cites several examples of the successful use of Telegram in investigations:
Telegram Chief Operating Officer Mike Ravdonikas told the WSJ: "There is hardly a single social network app that has not been used by criminals, Telegram is committed to limiting the abuse of its platform as much as possible".
Last month, the platform's founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested by French authorities. In response, Telegram updated its privacy policy and promised to hand over the IP addresses and phone numbers of suspects to the authorities.
Source
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), despite the widespread use of Telegram by criminals, the messenger has become an important tool for law enforcement agencies to penetrate criminal groups even without cooperation with the platform's management. Over the past five years, US intelligence agencies have been able to prosecute many criminals using their own messages in open Telegram channels, which has made the messenger a "hunting ground" for law enforcement agencies, the newspaper writes.
The WSJ notes that before the advent of Telegram, criminals mainly used disparate forums on the dark web, inaccessible to ordinary users. Such forums could only be closed by a court decision, and it was difficult to track users. On Telegram, criminals often use the same account on different platforms, which allows investigators to draw up their "road map", explained former federal prosecutor Seth Gertz.
However, Evan Kohlmann, a counterterrorism consultant who worked for the FBI, believes that Telegram is still more convenient for criminals than for investigators. In his opinion, the findings of law enforcement agencies in Telegram are just a "drop in the ocean".
The WSJ cites several examples of the successful use of Telegram in investigations:
- In 2020, federal agents were able to cut off the financing of Al-Qaeda (recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia) after discovering an open discussion of the money flow scheme in a public Telegram channel. The group asked subscribers to send money to a bitcoin address to buy weapons for Syrian militants, which allowed the US authorities to confiscate the funds.
- In September 2024, two Americans were charged with running a Telegram group with a neo-Nazi bias that incited subscribers to murder on the basis of sexual orientation or work for government agencies. The publicity of the channels helped the investigation to collect evidence and bring charges.
Telegram Chief Operating Officer Mike Ravdonikas told the WSJ: "There is hardly a single social network app that has not been used by criminals, Telegram is committed to limiting the abuse of its platform as much as possible".
Last month, the platform's founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested by French authorities. In response, Telegram updated its privacy policy and promised to hand over the IP addresses and phone numbers of suspects to the authorities.
Source
