Source: www.databreachtoday.com – Author:
Cybercrime , Fraud Management & Cybercrime
Platform Used for Drugs, Arms Trafficking and Money Laundering Akshaya Asokan (asokan_akshaya) • December 3, 2024
French and Dutch police led the takedown of an encrypted messaging platform used in international drug and arms trafficking, marking the latest in a string of European crackdowns against criminal apps.
See Also: The Healthcare CISO’s Guide to Medical IoT Security
Dutch police discovered the app, named Matrix, on the phone of a criminal convicted in 2021 of murdering a journalist. The infrastructure underpinning the app was more complex than other similar platforms busted by European authorities, including Sky ECC and EncroChat, Europol said Tuesday.
Authorities seized two main servers of the platform, which were located in France and Germany. Police arrested a suspect in France and two others in Spain, and carried out search operations in Lithuania.
The two individuals detained in Spain are a 52-year-old Lithuanian national who’s the suspected owner and administrator of the messaging service, as well as a 30-year-old Dutch national suspected of being an active participant in the operation and also involved in cocaine trafficking. Police confiscated 145,000 euros in cash, half a million euros in cryptocurrency, as well as more than 970 phones.
Investigators said they intercepted messages sent through Matrix for three months before Tuesday’s crackdown, sweeping up more than 2.3 million missives made in dozens of languages.
Dutch police said access to the app required an invitation and a payment for the first six months of service, which cost between 1,300 and 1,600 euros.
With this latest action, European authorities said they have fragmented the criminal market for encrypted chat services, driving criminals into relying on less secure or custom-built communication tools.
“While the new fragmented landscape poses challenges for law enforcement, the takedown of established communication channels, shows that authorities are on top of the latest technologies that criminals use,” Europol said.
Matrix is the fifth encrypted messaging service to be disrupted by the European authorities. Other platforms targeted in similar actions include Sky ECC, EncroChat, Exclu and Ghost.
Original Post url: https://www.databreachtoday.com/european-police-disrupt-matrix-encrypted-service-a-26961
Category & Tags: –
Views: 2
