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The chief executive of Phantom Secure, which manufactures "unhackable" phones, admitted to facilitating drug trafficking. Five executives were accused of gang and conspiracy to import and distribute illegal substances around the world.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Vincent Ramos had signed a plea agreement in which he revealed that he and four of his Phantom Secure accomplices, all of whom are currently fugitives, had placed servers in Panama and Hong Kong and used virtual proxies to hide their physical locations. They also remotely destroyed data from devices already seized by law enforcement agencies.
Phantom phones were very popular in the criminal underworld, including among the very top of transnational criminal groups. In particular, members of the well-known Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico were clients of Phantom Secure. Ramos' confession mentions that Phantom Secure devices were involved in the distribution of at least several hundred kilograms of cocaine, as well as heroin and methamphetamine, around the world. Phantom Secure phones were used by drug cartels for drug trafficking in the United States, Europe, Australia, Mexico, Canada and Thailand.
According to the FBI, a subscription to the Phantom Secure service cost about 2-3 thousand dollars in six months. To protect the anonymity of customers and the activities of Phantom Secure itself, transactions were made in digital currencies, including bitcoins. For this money, a person received a device where both software and hardware were modified in such a way as to ensure anonymity and encryption of all communications. GPS navigation, microphone, camera, Internet access and instant messenger, and even voice transmission technology, all were made with the special needs of customers in mind.
For each new client, an already signed trusted client had to vouch - thus, the company managed to exclude the introduction of law enforcement officers into the number of clients for a long time. But in the end, this strategy failed the criminals.
According to the deal that Ramos made with the investigation, $80 million and other assets worth tens of millions of dollars will be seized from him, including gold coins, cryptocurrency accounts, houses and Lamborghini. It will also transfer control over servers and 150 domains that supported the Phantom Secure network and allowed criminals to exchange encrypted messages. Ramos faces up to 20 years in prison.
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This week, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that 41-year-old Vincent Ramos, who headed Phantom Secure, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Ramos sold BlackBerry and Android smartphones with PGP-encryption to drug cartels and other criminal groups around the world.
The investigation into Vincent Ramos began back in 2017, after the police became aware of the existence of his company and the unusual services it provided. Phantom Secure first came to the radar of experts during the arrest of Owen Hanson, a former USC football player who was detained while trying to smuggle a ton of cocaine from Mexico to the United States. He used several Phantom Secure devices at once.
As a result, Ramos was arrested back in March 2018, and pleaded guilty in the fall of the same year. Let me remind you that according to American law enforcement officers, Phantom Secure knowingly sold encrypted smartphones to various criminal groups in the United States, Mexico and Australia. Such phones gave criminals the ability to securely encrypt their communications and remotely reset devices if a member of the group was arrested and their smartphone fell into the hands of the authorities.
According to the US Department of Justice, Phantom Secure devices, in particular, were used by members of the Sinaloa cartel to organize the transportation of drugs from Mexico to the United States, as well as members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club to organize several murders. After Ramos' arrest, law enforcement officers were able to examine the Phantom Secure network and found that it consisted of servers around the world (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Panama, Thailand and the United States).
By the time of Ramos' arrest in 2018, more than 7,000 Phantom Secure devices were in operation around the world, and the company had sold more than 20,000 encrypted smartphones (almost half of them were sold in Australia).
According to the FBI, a subscription to the Phantom Secure service cost about $2000-3000 in six months. To protect the anonymity of customers and the activities of Phantom Secure itself, transactions were mainly made using digital currencies and cryptocurrencies. For the mentioned amount, the client received a ready-made device, the software and hardware on which were modified in such a way as to ensure maximum anonymity and encryption of all communications.
According to the deal that Ramos previously concluded with the investigation, $80 million and other assets worth tens of millions of dollars, including gold coins, cryptocurrency accounts, real estate and luxury cars, will be seized from him.
Authorities have also indicted four other Phantom Secure employees who were accomplices in Ramos, but these people are still at large, hiding from the authorities.
Source
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In the United States, the creator of encrypted smartphones was released
Canadian entrepreneur Vincenta Ramos many years ago, at the beginning of his career, thought about creating a company that would provide services for those who value privacy and security in their mobile phones. In 2008, he founded the well-known company Phantom Secure, which specialized in selling encrypted phones to businessmen, VIP clients, popular rappers and artists who sought to protect their correspondence from outside interference.
Things were going uphill, but soon Ramos's company drew attention in criminal circles: many fans were found among the drug cartels. Modified Phantom Secure phones became popular among members of the Sinaloa cartel, which is one of the largest and most influential in Mexico to this day. For decades, the Sinaloa cartel has been led by notorious criminal leaders such as Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka "El Chapo."
The Phantom Secure made significant modifications to BlackBerry devices, removing the camera, microphone and GPS from them. As the main software, its own software was installed, including for working with encrypted email.
A key role was played by the well-known smuggler Hakan Ayik, who promoted Phantom Secure devices and thereby created a reputation for them as a "safe" phone for criminal circles. Seeing the growing demand from criminal circles, Ramos decided to fully concentrate his criminal business in this direction.
Phantom Secure has managed to amass a customer base of between 10,000 and 20,000 people, mostly high-ranking members of criminal groups involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. Access to the encrypted network could only be obtained with the recommendation of an existing client.
In 2017, Ramos came to the attention of U.S. law enforcement in the form of agents posing as drug traffickers. They managed to record a conversation where Ramos talks about how his phones can be used for safe communication for criminal purposes. A year later, in Las Vegas, he was arrested. The FBI offered him to cooperate and build a backdoor into Phantom Secure devices to spy on drug cartels. Ramos refused and tried to escape, but was detained on his way to Canada.
The case marked an important precedent: For the first time, the U.S. government has officially recognized a company that manufactures rugged phones as a criminal organization, and not just a provider of communications equipment to criminal customers. In 10 years, Phantom Secure managed to earn about $80 million.
Interestingly, after the closure of Phantom Secure, the US authorities figured out how to create their own encrypted network called Anom. The creative formed the basis of the "Trojan Shield" operation, during which law enforcement agencies actually created and operated an "encrypted" messaging platform, tracking illegal activities in 16 countries around the world. As a result of the operation, more than 800 people were arrested, including members of mafia organizations, drug cartels and criminal syndicates.
The United States authorities announced the release from an American prison of Canadian businessman Vincent Ramos, known as the creator of the first smartphone for drug cartels, produced by his own company Phantom Secure. Thus, as noted by 404 Media, 46-year-old Ramos served only five years of his term.
The lawyer of the entrepreneur confirmed to reporters the very fact of release. According to him, Ramos, after complying with some formalities in the United States, being a free man, intends to go to Canada, where he plans to reunite with his family.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Vincent Ramos had signed a plea agreement in which he revealed that he and four of his Phantom Secure accomplices, all of whom are currently fugitives, had placed servers in Panama and Hong Kong and used virtual proxies to hide their physical locations. They also remotely destroyed data from devices already seized by law enforcement agencies.
Phantom phones were very popular in the criminal underworld, including among the very top of transnational criminal groups. In particular, members of the well-known Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico were clients of Phantom Secure. Ramos' confession mentions that Phantom Secure devices were involved in the distribution of at least several hundred kilograms of cocaine, as well as heroin and methamphetamine, around the world. Phantom Secure phones were used by drug cartels for drug trafficking in the United States, Europe, Australia, Mexico, Canada and Thailand.
According to the FBI, a subscription to the Phantom Secure service cost about 2-3 thousand dollars in six months. To protect the anonymity of customers and the activities of Phantom Secure itself, transactions were made in digital currencies, including bitcoins. For this money, a person received a device where both software and hardware were modified in such a way as to ensure anonymity and encryption of all communications. GPS navigation, microphone, camera, Internet access and instant messenger, and even voice transmission technology, all were made with the special needs of customers in mind.
For each new client, an already signed trusted client had to vouch - thus, the company managed to exclude the introduction of law enforcement officers into the number of clients for a long time. But in the end, this strategy failed the criminals.
According to the deal that Ramos made with the investigation, $80 million and other assets worth tens of millions of dollars will be seized from him, including gold coins, cryptocurrency accounts, houses and Lamborghini. It will also transfer control over servers and 150 domains that supported the Phantom Secure network and allowed criminals to exchange encrypted messages. Ramos faces up to 20 years in prison.
Source
---
This week, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that 41-year-old Vincent Ramos, who headed Phantom Secure, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Ramos sold BlackBerry and Android smartphones with PGP-encryption to drug cartels and other criminal groups around the world.
The investigation into Vincent Ramos began back in 2017, after the police became aware of the existence of his company and the unusual services it provided. Phantom Secure first came to the radar of experts during the arrest of Owen Hanson, a former USC football player who was detained while trying to smuggle a ton of cocaine from Mexico to the United States. He used several Phantom Secure devices at once.
As a result, Ramos was arrested back in March 2018, and pleaded guilty in the fall of the same year. Let me remind you that according to American law enforcement officers, Phantom Secure knowingly sold encrypted smartphones to various criminal groups in the United States, Mexico and Australia. Such phones gave criminals the ability to securely encrypt their communications and remotely reset devices if a member of the group was arrested and their smartphone fell into the hands of the authorities.
According to the US Department of Justice, Phantom Secure devices, in particular, were used by members of the Sinaloa cartel to organize the transportation of drugs from Mexico to the United States, as well as members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club to organize several murders. After Ramos' arrest, law enforcement officers were able to examine the Phantom Secure network and found that it consisted of servers around the world (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Panama, Thailand and the United States).
By the time of Ramos' arrest in 2018, more than 7,000 Phantom Secure devices were in operation around the world, and the company had sold more than 20,000 encrypted smartphones (almost half of them were sold in Australia).
According to the FBI, a subscription to the Phantom Secure service cost about $2000-3000 in six months. To protect the anonymity of customers and the activities of Phantom Secure itself, transactions were mainly made using digital currencies and cryptocurrencies. For the mentioned amount, the client received a ready-made device, the software and hardware on which were modified in such a way as to ensure maximum anonymity and encryption of all communications.
According to the deal that Ramos previously concluded with the investigation, $80 million and other assets worth tens of millions of dollars, including gold coins, cryptocurrency accounts, real estate and luxury cars, will be seized from him.
Authorities have also indicted four other Phantom Secure employees who were accomplices in Ramos, but these people are still at large, hiding from the authorities.
Source
----
In the United States, the creator of encrypted smartphones was released
Canadian entrepreneur Vincenta Ramos many years ago, at the beginning of his career, thought about creating a company that would provide services for those who value privacy and security in their mobile phones. In 2008, he founded the well-known company Phantom Secure, which specialized in selling encrypted phones to businessmen, VIP clients, popular rappers and artists who sought to protect their correspondence from outside interference.
Things were going uphill, but soon Ramos's company drew attention in criminal circles: many fans were found among the drug cartels. Modified Phantom Secure phones became popular among members of the Sinaloa cartel, which is one of the largest and most influential in Mexico to this day. For decades, the Sinaloa cartel has been led by notorious criminal leaders such as Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka "El Chapo."
The Phantom Secure made significant modifications to BlackBerry devices, removing the camera, microphone and GPS from them. As the main software, its own software was installed, including for working with encrypted email.
A key role was played by the well-known smuggler Hakan Ayik, who promoted Phantom Secure devices and thereby created a reputation for them as a "safe" phone for criminal circles. Seeing the growing demand from criminal circles, Ramos decided to fully concentrate his criminal business in this direction.
Phantom Secure has managed to amass a customer base of between 10,000 and 20,000 people, mostly high-ranking members of criminal groups involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. Access to the encrypted network could only be obtained with the recommendation of an existing client.
In 2017, Ramos came to the attention of U.S. law enforcement in the form of agents posing as drug traffickers. They managed to record a conversation where Ramos talks about how his phones can be used for safe communication for criminal purposes. A year later, in Las Vegas, he was arrested. The FBI offered him to cooperate and build a backdoor into Phantom Secure devices to spy on drug cartels. Ramos refused and tried to escape, but was detained on his way to Canada.
The case marked an important precedent: For the first time, the U.S. government has officially recognized a company that manufactures rugged phones as a criminal organization, and not just a provider of communications equipment to criminal customers. In 10 years, Phantom Secure managed to earn about $80 million.
Interestingly, after the closure of Phantom Secure, the US authorities figured out how to create their own encrypted network called Anom. The creative formed the basis of the "Trojan Shield" operation, during which law enforcement agencies actually created and operated an "encrypted" messaging platform, tracking illegal activities in 16 countries around the world. As a result of the operation, more than 800 people were arrested, including members of mafia organizations, drug cartels and criminal syndicates.
The United States authorities announced the release from an American prison of Canadian businessman Vincent Ramos, known as the creator of the first smartphone for drug cartels, produced by his own company Phantom Secure. Thus, as noted by 404 Media, 46-year-old Ramos served only five years of his term.
The lawyer of the entrepreneur confirmed to reporters the very fact of release. According to him, Ramos, after complying with some formalities in the United States, being a free man, intends to go to Canada, where he plans to reunite with his family.
