The Encrypted Messenger App Favored by Global Crime Syndicates... It Was an FBI Sting Operation

Directly Developed 'ANOM' App... Deliberately Distributed to Crime Groups
Decoding Messages on Diplomatic Pouch Drug Trafficking to Prevent Crime
'Trojan Shield' International Joint Investigation Leads to Arrest of Over 800 People

On the 8th (local time) in San Diego, USA, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other judicial authorities announced the investigation results of the international sting operation "Troy Shield."
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] It has been revealed that an encrypted messenger application (app), widely used by criminal organizations worldwide for secret communication, was actually an app distributed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of a sting operation.

The FBI directly engaged in developing an encrypted messenger app for criminal organizations, which eventually evolved into a communication tool used by 300 criminal groups across more than 100 countries worldwide. This app played a decisive role in an international sting operation by U.S. and European law enforcement agencies that led to the arrest of over 800 suspects.

On the 8th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) and the U.S. public broadcaster NPR reported that the encrypted messenger app named ‘ANOM,’ developed by the FBI, played a crucial role in the so-called ‘Trojan Shield’ operation, in which U.S. and European law enforcement agencies arrested more than 800 suspects related to organized crime.

The FBI initially developed this app in 2018 as a tool for a sting operation jointly planned with Australian police and officially launched it in October 2019.

However, this app is not a typical app available for purchase on Apple’s or Google’s app stores. To use the app, one had to purchase a special phone with the app pre-installed from the black market. These special phones were also distributed by the FBI after infiltrating criminal organizations for the sting operation.

With its encrypted messaging capabilities and the feature that only known contacts could use it secretly, ANOM gained significant popularity among criminal organizations.

Especially after the previously used encrypted messenger app ‘EncroChat’ was shut down by the police, the number of ANOM users surged.

According to Europol, the police organization under the European Union (EU), more than 300 criminal organizations in over 100 countries began using this app. The number of users reached approximately 12,000, and the police obtained over 27 million messages.

It is true that this app enabled encrypted communication. The problem was that the FBI held the key to decrypt these encrypted messages.

Unaware of this, international criminal organizations freely used the app as a communication tool among members to conspire crimes.

The cash seized from an international criminal organization through Operation Troy Shield by New Zealand judicial authorities [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Moreover, their messages were transmitted to authorities in real time. A U.S. law enforcement official said, "This app, which criminals used to hide their activities, effectively became a means for them to ‘self-report’ to the police."

Through this investigation, various crimes, including drug trafficking using diplomatic pouches and murder plots, were prevented, foreign media reported. Countries participating in this international sting operation included the U.S., Australia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Denmark.

Jennifer Hurst, head of the Australian Federal Police who participated in the ‘Trojan Shield’ operation, described this sting operation as "the most important moment in the history of international cooperative investigations."

The headquarters of Europol, the police agency under the European Union (EU) [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Europol described the Trojan Shield operation as "the largest international investigation against encrypted international organized crime," stating that over 800 people were arrested worldwide, more than 700 locations were searched, and over 8 tons of cocaine, 22 tons of marijuana, and currency and cryptocurrencies worth approximately $48 million (about 53.6 billion KRW) were seized.