Damn FBI, You Sneaky. Phony App For Criminals Leads To Big Time Bust

[Doc Reeves 6434]

Aussie and FBI get drunk together and hatch a plan to honeypot ‘criminal influencers’
Arrests were primarily in Australia, but they fucked some bitches up but good. 
 

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/z3x3b5/trojan-shield-operation-ironside-fbi-an0m

Quote

Australia’s largest ever crime sting resulted in the arrest of more than 200 members of the nation’s criminal underworld this week – including those from the Australian mafia, outlaw motorcycle gangs, Asian crime syndicates and Albanian organised crime groups.

Hundreds of search warrants were executed across Australia on Monday, along with simultaneous stings in New Zealand, the United States and Europe, as authorities launched the spearhead of Operation Ironside: a three-year investigation, in collaboration with the FBI, which exposed thousands of criminals using a trojan horse encrypted messaging app that turned out to be a spying tool for law enforcement agencies.

There’s a lot to unpack here, and the revelations that have come to light in the past 24 hours about the various ways in which authorities baited major international criminals are pretty wild. Here are some of them.

The plot was apparently hatched over beers between Australian police and the FBI

The app, created by an independent developer and named AN0M, promised users an “ultra-secure” communications network that was impervious to outside surveillance. Rumour has it, according to Australia’s federal police commissioner Reece Kershaw, that Australian police and FBI agents were drinking beers together in 2018 when they hatched a plan to exploit the communications network for their own ends: by surreptitiously taking control of AN0M and using it as window into criminal activities.

“I wasn’t there,” Kershaw told reporters on Tuesday, “but as you know some of the best ideas come over a couple of beers.

Undercover agents relied on “criminal influencers” to promote the app

With the help of technical staff from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the FBI established a secret backdoor into AN0M, via which they could covertly decrypt and read messages in real time. The app-turned-honeypot, which over the past few years has come to be used by organised crime gangs around the world to plan executions, mass drug importations and money laundering, was then introduced into Australia’s criminal networks by unwitting fugitive drug trafficker Hakan Ayik, who was given a device containing AN0M by undercover agents. 

Ayik is the founding member of the “Aussie Cartel” – a syndicate formed by some of Australia’s most wanted crime bosses that smuggles an estimated $1.5 billion AUD worth of drugs into the country each year – and is currently Australia’s most wanted priority target. He recommended AN0M to criminal associates, who would purchase mobile devices that had been preloaded with the app on the black market. 

These phones could not make calls or send emails, and could only send messages to another device that had the same app, according to a statement by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Criminals needed to know a criminal to get a device. They would then use the encrypted messaging software to send messages, distort messages and take videos.

High-profile organised crime figures vouched for the app’s integrity – and by the time authorities swooped more than 10,000 people were using AN0M devices across the world, including more than 1,600 in Australia.

“These criminal influencers put the AFP in the back pocket of hundreds of alleged offenders,” said Kershaw. “Essentially, they have handcuffed each other by endorsing and trusting AN0M and openly communicating on it – not knowing we were watching the entire time.”

Criminals chatted openly about murder and large-scale drug deliveries

Kershaw further noted that conversations on the app were brazen, openly discussing drugs and plotting murders. 

“It would be like ‘I need 1,000 kilos at this price’… no attempt to hide behind any codified sort of conversation,” he said. “It was there to be seen – including ‘we’ll have a speedboat that you’ll meet you at this point, this is who’ll do this,’ and so on.” 

Since 2018, Operation Ironside has led authorities to seize 3.7 tonnes of drugs, 104 weapons, $44,934,457 million in cash and assets expected to run into the millions of dollars. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday that the operation had “struck a heavy blow against organised crime. Not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world,” and described it as “a watershed moment in Australian law enforcement history.”

The app has already prevented major crimes – but it’s likely to set off even more

Commissioner Kershaw added to that by claiming that police had “arrested the alleged kingmakers behind these crimes, prevented mass shootings in suburbs, and frustrated serious and organised crime by seizing their ill-gotten wealth. Collectively these alleged offenders are facing jail terms that could run into hundreds of years.”

Search warrants were also executed across New Zealand in what local police said was the “world's most sophisticated law enforcement action against organised crime to date,” and the FBI similarly worked with 18 other police organisations worldwide as part of a global operation called Trojan Shield. More arrests are expected both within Australia and abroad under a coordinated global response. 

Cops expect the app to cause infighting among criminals

In the wake of this week’s bust, Commissioner Kershaw indicated that Australian authorities were on high alert in anticipation of “disruptions” and potential infighting within the criminal underworld.

“They all turn on each other,” he said, “[and] there’s no doubt going to be some tension within the whole system about who owes what drug debt and so on.”

The AFP said it is also likely to seek extradition requests for a number of persons of interest living overseas. 

 

[Parliament 14368]

1) Mad props to these guys.  So devious.   Next round's on me.

2) Proof well all gotta be careful what apps we use.

[Doc Reeves 6434]

9 minutes ago, Parliament said:

2) Proof well all gotta be careful what apps we use.

 

-especially when we talk about huge international drug deals and murder. 

I think this case illustrates how Instagram apps are great for catching your attention, but not so great on credibility.

[Orange&White 5554]

You would think by this time, in 20fucking21, criminals would have eventually learned that THERE IS NO SECURE COMMUNICAITONS USING A CELL PHONE. Of any kind. Ever.

[Brothahorn 10088]

Why would you release the details of how the app worked or how you got the criminals to use it?

[Doc Reeves 6434]

5 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

Why would you release the details of how the app worked or how you got the criminals to use it?

Thats what I thought too but they were talking about murder and the FBI can’t allow an actual murder they know about to take place. not sure what the deal is in Australia, but I would wager it’s similar. Should have gone 10 years and then taken down 1/4 of the world’s crime lords.

[Chad Fuck 17839]

32 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

Why would you release the details of how the app worked or how you got the criminals to use it?

Because the jig must've been up somehow. I'll bet the cops had done enough interventions that the bad guys were either figuring it out, or somehow the word had leaked.  You don't reveal the tool until the tool is no longer useful.  

[Dahobbs 17803]

Doesn't this seem problematic legally, at least if used in the US? From the description, the FBI literally hacked into the app to read private messages. Originally, I thought this was about the FBI and AFP developing an app and then convincing criminals to use it. But the way this was done seems like it would result in a bunch of convictions getting thrown out, at least here in the states.

[Fudge Nuggets 19276]

This confirms my observations that you get a lot more productive ideas from sharing a few beers in a bar than all the stupid ass corporate “team building” exercises combined. 

[Orange&White 5554]

I thought most people just assumed that the FBI is reading every app no matter which one it is.

[Da Fino 2797]

11 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Doesn't this seem problematic legally, at least if used in the US? From the description, the FBI literally hacked into the app to read private messages. Originally, I thought this was about the FBI and AFP developing an app and then convincing criminals to use it. But the way this was done seems like it would result in a bunch of convictions getting thrown out, at least here in the states.

I think the story might have been poorly written. I think they paid to have the app made. Here's something I saw in a different article. 

 

After tackling Phantom Secure, members of the AFP and the FBI began hatching a plan to provide devices to the criminal underworld, that would let them gaze into the inner workings of organised crime. 

The FBI had the technology in development, an app called AN0M, that was installed on mobile phones that had no other capability. 

The AFP offered staff and the skill to be able to decrypt and read messages sent over AN0M on these devices in real-time.

To get them in the hands of unsuspecting criminals, the AFP and FBI were influenced by social media stars.

Authorities used "criminal influencers" to unwittingly push the "crystal ball" devices. 

 

[Dahobbs 17803]

1 minute ago, Da Fino said:

I think the story might have been poorly written. I think they paid to have the app made. Here's something I saw in a different article. 

 

After tackling Phantom Secure, members of the AFP and the FBI began hatching a plan to provide devices to the criminal underworld, that would let them gaze into the inner workings of organised crime. 

The FBI had the technology in development, an app called AN0M, that was installed on mobile phones that had no other capability. 

The AFP offered staff and the skill to be able to decrypt and read messages sent over AN0M on these devices in real-time.

To get them in the hands of unsuspecting criminals, the AFP and FBI were influenced by social media stars.

Authorities used "criminal influencers" to unwittingly push the "crystal ball" devices. 

 

If that is the case, now I'm concerned that the FBI needed someone else to decrypt messages sent over an app it developed and controlled. I mean, seriously? 

[Homercles 10206]

Shoulda used pagers and some basic number obfuscation 

 

[Doc Reeves 6434]

49 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

If that is the case, now I'm concerned that the FBI needed someone else to decrypt messages sent over an app it developed and controlled. I mean, seriously? 

So you even Signal bro? 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 hour ago, Brothahorn said:

Why would you release the details of how the app worked or how you got the criminals to use it?

Yeah, I don't understand this at all.  Why release the scheme ? 

[Brothahorn 10088]

Because the jig must've been up somehow. I'll bet the cops had done enough interventions that the bad guys were either figuring it out, or somehow the word had leaked.  You don't reveal the tool until the tool is no longer useful.  

Thats what I thought too but they were talking about murder and the FBI can’t allow an actual murder they know about to take place. not sure what the deal is in Australia, but I would wager it’s similar. Should have gone 10 years and then taken down 1/4 of the world’s crime lords.

That's probably what happened. But maybe release it in court documents and not the press conference.

And it was probably the Aussie's who balked. I'm sure the FBI has no problem over looking a strategic murder or two.

[RPM 26426]

Apparently they agreed with the user agreement without thoroughly reading it. Let that be a lesson to ya.

[Blotto 23679]

2 hours ago, Orange&White said:

You would think by this time, in 20fucking21, criminals would have eventually learned that THERE IS NO SECURE COMMUNICAITONS USING A CELL PHONE. Of any kind. Ever.

I'm sure there are smart criminals that realize that. Most criminals are just as stupid/lazy as the rest of the world, if not more so. 

[AUS-97HORN 11874]

my thought is.... even if that specific app was compromised.... why fucking give all the criminals in the world a heads up that the encryption apps may be bullshit?

 

OK so that specific app  was  shown to be "bad" by the bad guys.... 

hell the FBI could have said they hacked the motherfucker and no one would be the wiser until the trial... and since the vast majority of the arrests were in Aussyville theres a good chance the full FBI details wouldnt have come out.

 

so do ANOTHER encryption app,  use the same technique, get some clowns to be influencers.... except this time, make it a European based app, (or US),  nurture it for 2-3 years  while the Aussy trials get ready to start and THEN spring the trap on the 2nd one as well.    

 

And even then, dont fucking tell every god damned literate criminal in the world to watch their damn encryption apps.

 

 

I remember watching "To Catch A Smuggler" on NatGeo about 3 years ago where the border patrol pulled over a very specific semi truck on the highway.   The BP agents were all giddy because they KNEW this trailer had contraband.  and yep trailer was full of something.

Producer asked how they knew... and the BP agent happily points to the upper right corner of the semi trailer where there was a piece of multi colored reflective duct tape

 

in a sideways triangle

similar to the  top of the "P" section  in this pic

 

 

so DUH... the bad guys stopped marking their trucks with that tape the moment the episode aired.

 

you fucking idiots..

 

[UTCzech III 2907]

Jimmy McGill with the long con

 

[Parliament 14368]

2 hours ago, Da Fino said:

I think the story might have been poorly written. I think they paid to have the app made. Here's something I saw in a different article. 

 

After tackling Phantom Secure, members of the AFP and the FBI began hatching a plan to provide devices to the criminal underworld, that would let them gaze into the inner workings of organised crime. 

The FBI had the technology in development, an app called AN0M, that was installed on mobile phones that had no other capability. 

The AFP offered staff and the skill to be able to decrypt and read messages sent over AN0M on these devices in real-time.

To get them in the hands of unsuspecting criminals, the AFP and FBI were influenced by social media stars.

Authorities used "criminal influencers" to unwittingly push the "crystal ball" devices. 

 

I missed part.  So these guys (badasses still) were leanin' into one and said, "Hey!  Let's make an app specifically for spying on these aholes, then somehow get them to use it as their predominant means of communication.  Sounds super easy."  And it turns out it WAS easy.

[atomheartbevo 90041]

3 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Because the jig must've been up somehow. I'll bet the cops had done enough interventions that the bad guys were either figuring it out, or somehow the word had leaked.  You don't reveal the tool until the tool is no longer useful.  

That and it could force them back to using physical trails (paper trails, couriers, etc.).

[WhatTheBuck 28825]

“Dope on the table.”

Good for a photo op. Won’t change anything. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19276]

6 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

my thought is.... even if that specific app was compromised.... why fucking give all the criminals in the world a heads up that the encryption apps may be bullshit?

 

OK so that specific app  was  shown to be "bad" by the bad guys.... 

hell the FBI could have said they hacked the motherfucker and no one would be the wiser until the trial... and since the vast majority of the arrests were in Aussyville theres a good chance the full FBI details wouldnt have come out.

 

so do ANOTHER encryption app,  use the same technique, get some clowns to be influencers.... except this time, make it a European based app, (or US),  nurture it for 2-3 years  while the Aussy trials get ready to start and THEN spring the trap on the 2nd one as well.    

 

And even then, dont fucking tell every god damned literate criminal in the world to watch their damn encryption apps.

 

 

I remember watching "To Catch A Smuggler" on NatGeo about 3 years ago where the border patrol pulled over a very specific semi truck on the highway.   The BP agents were all giddy because they KNEW this trailer had contraband.  and yep trailer was full of something.

Producer asked how they knew... and the BP agent happily points to the upper right corner of the semi trailer where there was a piece of multi colored reflective duct tape

 

in a sideways triangle

similar to the  top of the "P" section  in this pic

 

 

so DUH... the bad guys stopped marking their trucks with that tape the moment the episode aired.

 

you fucking idiots..

 

Yeah, I’ll go out on a limb and say the Federal B-I has a better idea on what to reveal than you.

[Deej 77160]

Everyone in the Sugarbaby thread...

[Cajun 11764]

I'd be much more impressed if the "FBI" used that kind of ingenuity on their own program.  

Yay, you fooled some lying criminals.

Now, maybe stop being lying criminals?  I dunno, just spitballing here.

[0xdeadbeef 1653]

Quote

but as you know some of the best ideas come over a couple of beers

That sounds like every Aussie I've ever met.  Fun Folks. 

[Carl Spackler 3522]

Paulie was right.

[Deej 77160]

20 minutes ago, 0xdeadbeef said:

That sounds like every Aussie I've ever met.  Fun Folks. 

They're always a few beers deep. Every idea is influenced by beer. 

[Cajun 11764]

1 hour ago, Carl Spackler said:

Paulie was right.

Gotta go see a guy about that thing...

[TKthunder2 5016]

13 hours ago, Orange&White said:

You would think by this time, in 20fucking21, criminals would have eventually learned that THERE IS NO SECURE COMMUNICAITONS USING A CELL PHONE. Of any kind. Ever.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

12 hours ago, Deej said:

They're always a few beers deep. Every idea is influenced by beer. 

The good ones are influenced by weed though.... at least in the artistic world....

['stache 21900]

22 hours ago, Brothahorn said:

Why would you release the details of how the app worked or how you got the criminals to use it?

They’d have to explain it in open court to convict the ones they caught. I guess they figured they had enough to make a sweeping arrest and put them away. Plus what’s to stop them from finding other ways trick these idiots? They gotta talk somehow, just keep trying to make your stuff interesting to use. 

[crash_davis 23154]

dumb question alert.

couldn't the defense claim entrapment? because the fbi created this secure app, the criminals were induced and given a medium by which to solicit criminal activities? if not for this app, they would not have been able to plan and coordinate the criminal activities.

 

[Jkwellborn 6877]

Producer asked how they knew
 
so DUH... the bad guys stopped marking their trucks with that tape the moment the episode aired.
 
you fucking idiots..
 

They were tipped off. That was just the designator for the poor sucker they set up to drive the truck. While the BP was dealing with that, I’d be willing to be plenty of other good stuff made it’s way in.

Yeah, I’ll go out on a limb and say the Federal B-I has a better idea on what to reveal than you.

You know they’re ran by the .gov right?

[Doc Reeves 6434]

1 hour ago, Jkwellborn said:

You know they’re ran by the .gov right?

You think thats worse than a private company?

[Carl Spackler 3522]

9 hours ago, crash_davis said:

dumb question alert.

couldn't the defense claim entrapment? because the fbi created this secure app, the criminals were induced and given a medium by which to solicit criminal activities? if not for this app, they would not have been able to plan and coordinate the criminal activities.

 

Not a dumb question at all, IMO.  I assume defense attorneys will argue entrapment at some point.

I'm no crim law expert, but my understanding is that entrapment requires inducement.  In turn, inducement requires at least some amount of persuasion or mild coercion.  The prosecutors will argue that this app didn't persuade or coerce anyone to commit any crimes; rather, it merely facilitated the criminal activity or made it easier, which isn't entrapment. 

Others with more background in this area can chime in and probably explain it better, but that's my take.

 

[Hmmm 155]

On 6/8/2021 at 12:27 PM, AUS-97HORN said:

so do ANOTHER encryption app,  use the same technique, get some clowns to be influencers.... except this time, make it a European based app, (or US),  nurture it for 2-3 years  while the Aussy trials get ready to start and THEN spring the trap on the 2nd one as well.    

 

Not sure if GDPR would allow this.  I certainly hope not.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Hmmm

[WhatTheBuck 28825]

21 hours ago, crash_davis said:

dumb question alert.

couldn't the defense claim entrapment? because the fbi created this secure app, the criminals were induced and given a medium by which to solicit criminal activities? if not for this app, they would not have been able to plan and coordinate the criminal activities.

As if they were never engaged in criminal conspiracies before the app.

I’m not aware that any would-be terrorists have gotten off by using the entrapment defense against FBI agents who lured them into thinking they were buying bombs or bomb-making materials for use in terrorist activities.

[Doc Reeves 6434]

1 hour ago, WhatTheBuck said:

As if they were never engaged in criminal conspiracies before the app.

I’m not aware that any would-be terrorists have gotten off by using the entrapment defense against FBI agents who lured them into thinking they were buying bombs or bomb-making materials for use in terrorist activities.

Entrapment only works when it’s the FBI directly or an FBI agent posing as a criminal. Also, the suspect has to turn down the invitation to commit the crime. The Ruby Ridge incident was razor close to this as they tried to snare a Neo Nazi informant. If you have an informant or criminal asset that does all that, it doesn’t count since is seen as basically part of the workings of the criminal underworld (iirc).

Entrapment is basically ’To Catch A Predator’ where sex with kids is illegal but people are lured by someone who is not a child and no sex takes place. No crime actually took place, the suspect just thought he was committing a crime.

[TwiceHorn 31677]

43 minutes ago, Doc Reeves said:

Entrapment only works when it’s the FBI directly or an FBI agent posing as a criminal. Also, the suspect has to turn down the invitation to commit the crime. The Ruby Ridge incident was razor close to this as they tried to snare a Neo Nazi informant. If you have an informant or criminal asset that does all that, it doesn’t count since is seen as basically part of the workings of the criminal underworld (iirc).

Entrapment is basically ’To Catch A Predator’ where sex with kids is illegal but people are lured by someone who is not a child and no sex takes place. No crime actually took place, the suspect just thought he was committing a crime.

This isn't really accurate, either.

The touchstone of entrapment is, as mentioned, "inducement."  And that has to rise to the level of commit a criminal act the entrapped party was unlikely or unwilling to do absent the acts of entrapment.

This situation might create some novel-ish 4th Amendment search and seizure questions, though.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

On 6/8/2021 at 9:06 AM, Brothahorn said:

Why would you release the details of how the app worked or how you got the criminals to use it?

Probably had to in discovery.

[Dahobbs 17803]

16 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

This isn't really accurate, either.

The touchstone of entrapment is, as mentioned, "inducement."  And that has to rise to the level of commit a criminal act the entrapped party was unlikely or unwilling to do absent the acts of entrapment.

This situation might create some novel-ish 4th Amendment search and seizure questions, though.

Yeah, search where I think the issue is. I don't see an entrapment defense going anywhere. 

[SquishMitten 10457]

Not a dumb question at all, IMO.  I assume defense attorneys will argue entrapment at some point.
I'm no crim law expert, but my understanding is that entrapment requires inducement.  In turn, inducement requires at least some amount of persuasion or mild coercion.  The prosecutors will argue that this app didn't persuade or coerce anyone to commit any crimes; rather, it merely facilitated the criminal activity or made it easier, which isn't entrapment. 
Others with more background in this area can chime in and probably explain it better, but that's my take.
 

Not a crim law attorney, but that was going to be my response. As I understand it, inducement is key. The gov has to do something to encourage you to commit a crime you otherwise wouldn’t have done. Somebody will raise it as a defense, but I don’t see it gaining much traction based on the current facts we have. As described, the authorities were very hands off. They just released the app into the world then sat back and watched. The first dude they gave one of the phones to is probably the only one that even has an outside chance of making a decent entrapment defense

[RollLeft 5045]

If the crimes were impacting citizens of our country than I could consider the merits of spending tax dollars on stopping shit going down in Australia, otherwise what the hell are we doing down there?  We don't have enough to deal with here? 

[TwiceHorn 31677]

Here's a pretty good and readable blurb on the federal view of entrapment.  https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-645-entrapment-elements

Note that the predisposition to criminal acts is often fatal to showing that it was unlikely the act would have been committed absent the inducement/entrapment.

Edited June 10, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[Doc Reeves 6434]

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

This isn't really accurate, either.

The touchstone of entrapment is, as mentioned, "inducement."  And that has to rise to the level of commit a criminal act the entrapped party was unlikely or unwilling to do absent the acts of entrapment.

This situation might create some novel-ish 4th Amendment search and seizure questions, though.

I’ll definitely defer to your expertise, I just know NBC was sued for entrapment and settled out of court for a private sum but that was estimated to be north of $50mill before the agreement was reached.  *Also a judge threw out a case and accused the show of entrapment. Obviously apples and oranges. Thanks for clearing it up.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Doc Reeves

[Carl Spackler 3522]

3 hours ago, RollLeft said:

If the crimes were impacting citizens of our country than I could consider the merits of spending tax dollars on stopping shit going down in Australia, otherwise what the hell are we doing down there?  We don't have enough to deal with here? 

The article linked in the OP indicates that the criminal activity occurred in or affected several countries other than Australia, including the U.S.   Sounds like it was a global thing. 

 

 

[jeevsie 3740]

[jeevsie 3740]

This also reminds me of the time a guy said to me, "Don't use your fingerprint to unlock your iphone.  A judge can make you put your finger on the phone to unlock it - he can't make you 'remember' your code."

My response was - Or I could just not do illegal shit...