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The incredible flaw of the encrypted telephone of organized crime

2020-07-02T22:50:10.792Z


By managing to break the encryption of a telephone used by many thugs, the gendarmes allowed large-scale arrests in to


A veritable earthquake for global organized crime. Eight tonnes of cocaine and around 100 arrests in the Netherlands; more than 700 arrests, 60 million euros in dirty money, 77 automatic weapons and more than two tonnes of drugs - including 28 million Valium tablets manufactured in an illegal laboratory in the United Kingdom… In France, several operations have already been carried out and "several dozen very sensitive investigations have been opened and could be completed in the coming months," said a senior law enforcement official.

For weeks - the date is kept secret so as not to give any indication to the perpetrators -, investigators from all over Europe were able to follow, live, the slightest acts and gestures of major criminals, to know their plans for violent action, to be informed of important deliveries of narcotics… Behind this enormous blow, the French Gendarmerie, which managed to break in all discretion the secure encryption of the EncroChat network, used by nearly 60,000 people in Europe, including thousands in France. According to the authorities, 90% of users are linked to organized crime. "This investigation made it possible to collect absolutely new and interesting information on criminal organizations," explains General Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, boss of the PJ of the gendarmerie.

1000 euros for the phone, 1500 euros for technical support

In 2017, the gendarmes update the existence of the EncroChat system. Behind simple phones sold for around 1,000 euros on the Internet, they discover an advanced encryption system that appeals to lovers of discreet conversations. The operator thus promises to be "undetectable" and offers the possibility of "deleting all data" by entering a simple code in the event of arrest by the police. The service also offered technical support open 24 hours a day for 1,500 euros every 6 months. In November 2018, after EncroChat servers have been located in Lille, a preliminary investigation is opened by the JIRS and entrusted to the specialized gendarmes of the Center for the fight against digital crime (C3N).

In a few months, thanks to "a secret defense system", the soldiers manage to capture the messages exchanged on EncroChat, without the knowledge of their crooked users. More than 100 million messages, of conversations between crime lords thinking of the shelter behind a powerful encryption system, were thus able to be intercepted by the French and transmitted to various police services in Europe until mid-June . Thus, on the night of June 12 to 13, the operator sent a long message to its subscribers, explaining that it had "been the victim of an illegal seizure by a government entity. The encrypted phone provider also advised customers to "turn off their terminal and get rid of it physically." Too late. "We were invisible and we could see all their acts," breathes General Lecouffe.

In fact, several arrests have taken place in France in recent weeks thanks to this hack from EncroChat: two leading importers of narcotics in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), another in Bordeaux (Gironde), where several other investigations related to these phones are still in progress according to a judicial source… In the south of France, a settlement of accounts was avoided by the PJ in particular thanks to decoded messages on EncroChat coupled with field investigations…

"A perfect marriage between technique and classic investigative work"

This week again, three suspected traffickers from the North were put out of harm's way by the police from the OFAST branch in Lille and the BRI. After having exploited exchanges on these hidden phones, the investigators followed the trail of these three men, very unfavorably known to the police, who multiplied the back and forth between the Netherlands and the Lille metropolis to get drugs hard and drain it locally. The searches made it possible to seize 10 kg of heroin (around 300,000 euros), 700 g of cocaine (35,000 euros), grass, methamphetamine, two handguns…

“This case is a perfect marriage between technique and classic work of investigator, greets Romuald Muller, interregional director of the judicial police (DIPJ) of Lille. Unlike normal listening, exchanges on these encrypted phones were freer but the correspondents only used pseudonyms. It was therefore necessary to carry out in-depth investigations by the judicial police, especially in the field, to locate the suspects and identify them. They are to be referred this Friday morning.

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And what a first step promises Europol. In France, almost all the research sections of the gendarmerie are investigating today thanks to the fault found by the C3N. The anti-narcotics office (OFAST) specializing in large drug traffickers, has opened a dozen investigations into users of encrypted lines. All concern "very high level criminals," says a police source. When you are ready to pay 3,000 euros a year to encrypt your conversations, it is not to import ten kilos of shit… ”

Source: leparis

All tech articles on 2020-07-02

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