Following the mass arrest of members of an Italian criminal organization, law enforcement uncovered a vast distribution network of highly prized, but still poorly understood cryptophones.
It is a survey of Motherboard, IrpiMedia And LaViaLibera which reveals this case worthy of Hollywood cinema.
Mafiosi 2.0
The Italian Mafia is one of the most infamous criminal organizations in the world. However, it reflects an old image, dating back to the era of American prohibition, but also to that portrayed in popular cultural works such as the film saga The Godfather or the Mafia video games. Imagining mafiosos in 2023 can therefore be an alternate history if we are not interested in the news related to this subject.
Yet the mafia is still active today, like the ‘Ndrangheta, whose leader considers the city of Milan to belong to him” by right “. Maybe, but that didn’t stop European authorities from arresting 132 of its members last week. The organization is accused of numerous crimes around the world, including drug trafficking from South America and arms smuggling from Pakistan, to name a few.
If the details of the investigation revealed by Motherboard are very crusty, the modus operandi of the criminals doesn’t seem particularly groundbreaking, at least to anyone who’s spent a little too much time watching Netflix. Except for one detail: their methods of communication. This is an essential and fragile point for any organization, criminal or not, and the ‘Ndrangheta is no exception to the rule.
Indeed, it must use encrypted devices and applications, in order to circumvent the surveillance and curiosity of the authorities. But the latter have shown ingenuity in infiltrating messaging systems known to be attractive to illegal actors, which allowed them to capture messages that were clearly not intended for disclosure. Caught in the act, the mafia then reveals a vast network whose objective is to distribute encrypted smartphones to criminal organizations around the world.
A truly legal business?
During a period when encrypted messaging apps popular with criminals were infiltrated one after another, lesser-known services were able to emerge from anonymity, sometimes even without their knowledge. This is the case of German No. 1 Business Communication, which launched in 2010 by marketing software preinstalled on an SD card allowing calls to be made without eavesdropping.
Today, the company offers encrypted messaging applications available on iPhone. If it prides itself on having an entirely legal activity, having military and governmental institutions, financial companies and celebrities as clients, this is not quite the case for all its resellers. Indeed, it relies on a network of independent distributors to sell its products, and some of them quickly turned into criminals.
Finally, the image of No. 1 Business Communication is not very clear. Between its dealers convicted of drug trafficking or money laundering, its rather silent American investor and a technician of Ukrainian origin close to criminal circles, all the ingredients are there to give the authorities headaches. And inspiration to the screenwriters of future hit series.
According to inside sources, the company is mass-installing its messaging app on iPhones using a solution offered by BlackBerry. It is these devices that resellers offer, for the modest sum of 10,000 euros per half-dozen according to some, or 1,450 euros per unit for six months of service according to others. Apart from encryption services, these devices also come with other in-house features, such as a remote data wipe system. You can never be too careful, can you?
Font 2.0
It was in 2021 that the use of private messaging by criminal organizations began to make a lot of noise, especially when Western authorities revealed that they had hacked Sky, the largest provider of encrypted telephone services at the time. Billions of messages have thus been collected, which has allowed the arrest of numerous criminals, including the recent arrest of members of the ‘Ndrangheta.
In 2020, it was the French National Gendarmerie which distinguished itself by infiltrating EncroChat, an encrypted messaging system. The FBI, meanwhile, has chosen the decoy technique by developing equivalent systems directly intended for criminals, called ANOM and Phantom Secure.
For the moment, No. 1 Business Communication does not seem to be affected by the latest findings from the authorities. However, its administrators recently updated its signing certificates, to confirm that future updates will come from the company and not from a third party. The approach is not trivial, because it was through this that EncroChat had been hacked by the French authorities.
However, it is not said that the reputation of the company has not suffered the blow. Especially since, the crime never stopping, the people concerned are already surely turning to other suppliers. Or maybe to other more popular email systems, who knows?
Source : Vice
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