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Ordinary smartphones allowed the FBI to hack the criminal world from the inside.
Journalist Joseph Cox spoke about the FBI's largest covert operation involving the use of encrypted telephone networks to track criminal activity.
In 2018, Anom, a secure communication platform, appeared on the market, which soon became popular among criminal gangs. It was actively used by influential drug traffickers around the world, confident that their messages were protected. On the Anom platform, smuggling of prohibited substances, crimes and other illegal activities were discussed. However, Anom had a secret: the platform was under the control of the FBI.
The story was the topic of a presentation at the annual hacker conference DEF CON, where the author talked about all aspects of Anom's work. During the 40-minute lecture, a full analysis of how the platform functioned, from the operation of the phones themselves and the network, to the backdoor mechanism through which the special services gained access to correspondence, was presented. In addition, details of Anom's corporate structure and the FBI's actions aimed at developing the project were revealed.
For three years, intelligence agencies ran the company, providing secure phones to criminals around the world while monitoring their activities. This gave agents unique access to information about criminal activity, allowing them to track drug dealers, smugglers, and other criminals in real time.
Controlling Anom turned out to be not only a successful tactical move for the FBI, but also a challenge. Agents had to deal with problems typical of any tech startup, from cloud services to logistics and customer support. As a result, the operation was so successful that it had to be curtailed in 2021, as the scale of observations of criminal activity went beyond reasonable limits.
One of the most exciting episodes was when the inventory of Google Pixel smartphones used on Anom dropped dramatically. When there were not enough phones, the FBI organized a secret operation. The intelligence services delivered a batch of Android devices to Europe on a private jet, and then left them at the agreed place, from where Anom intermediaries took the phones, unaware of who was behind it.
Operation Anom was a turning point in the fight against organized crime. As a result of the information collected, it was possible to prevent many crimes, intercept large quantities of prohibited substances and destroy entire criminal networks. As a result of the special operation, more than 800 people were arrested in 16 countries, and a huge amount of drugs, weapons and large sums of money earned by criminals were seized.
Source
Journalist Joseph Cox spoke about the FBI's largest covert operation involving the use of encrypted telephone networks to track criminal activity.
In 2018, Anom, a secure communication platform, appeared on the market, which soon became popular among criminal gangs. It was actively used by influential drug traffickers around the world, confident that their messages were protected. On the Anom platform, smuggling of prohibited substances, crimes and other illegal activities were discussed. However, Anom had a secret: the platform was under the control of the FBI.
The story was the topic of a presentation at the annual hacker conference DEF CON, where the author talked about all aspects of Anom's work. During the 40-minute lecture, a full analysis of how the platform functioned, from the operation of the phones themselves and the network, to the backdoor mechanism through which the special services gained access to correspondence, was presented. In addition, details of Anom's corporate structure and the FBI's actions aimed at developing the project were revealed.
For three years, intelligence agencies ran the company, providing secure phones to criminals around the world while monitoring their activities. This gave agents unique access to information about criminal activity, allowing them to track drug dealers, smugglers, and other criminals in real time.
Controlling Anom turned out to be not only a successful tactical move for the FBI, but also a challenge. Agents had to deal with problems typical of any tech startup, from cloud services to logistics and customer support. As a result, the operation was so successful that it had to be curtailed in 2021, as the scale of observations of criminal activity went beyond reasonable limits.
One of the most exciting episodes was when the inventory of Google Pixel smartphones used on Anom dropped dramatically. When there were not enough phones, the FBI organized a secret operation. The intelligence services delivered a batch of Android devices to Europe on a private jet, and then left them at the agreed place, from where Anom intermediaries took the phones, unaware of who was behind it.
Operation Anom was a turning point in the fight against organized crime. As a result of the information collected, it was possible to prevent many crimes, intercept large quantities of prohibited substances and destroy entire criminal networks. As a result of the special operation, more than 800 people were arrested in 16 countries, and a huge amount of drugs, weapons and large sums of money earned by criminals were seized.
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