Operation Trojan Shield Uses Encrypted Messaging Platform to Thwart Global Crime Networks
In a news release from June 8, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the successful completion of Operation Trojan Shield, a global effort targeting encrypted platforms used by criminal groups.
The FBI, in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police, launched their own encrypted communications platform much like the ones criminal organizations use with end-to-end encryption. The police groups then supplied more than 12,000 devices to hundreds of criminal organizations around the world.
The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Australian Federal Police, Europol, and law enforcement partners in more than a dozen countries were successfully able to make hundred of arrests thanks to Operation Trojan Shield, exposing criminal networks around the world. The idea for this operation came after the takedown of encrypted communications platform Phantom Secure, whose executives were charged with providing encrypted devices to criminals.
However, after the shutdown of Phantom Secure, criminal groups simply moved over to different encryption platforms, which prompted law enforcement to consider making one of their own. FBI San Diego Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jamie Arnold explained, “For the agents on the investigative team and our federal and international partners, this was a creative and innovative way for us to get behind that firewall and see what was happening among the leadership of these criminal organizations.”
These encrypted devices can cost up to $2000 and can be remotely erased if they are acquired by law enforcement. In the case of Operation Trojan Shield, each of these devices would create a carbon copy of the messages being sent and received so that law enforcement could analyze the communications. If appropriate, the FBI would then disseminate the information to partner agencies in other countries who could then make arrests.
Through this operation, thousands of kilograms of narcotics and millions of dollars were seized from criminal networks. Arnold furthered, “Criminal groups using encrypted communications to thwart law enforcement should no longer feel safe in that space. We hope criminals worldwide will fear that the FBI or another law enforcement organization may, in fact, be running their platform.”
The heads of various other law enforcement agencies around the world also expressed their satisfaction with Operation Trojan Shield. Andrew Coster, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said of the effort, “The operation has been a tremendous success, and it underscores the importance of our relationships to disrupt organized crime, which this operation has achieved in a significant way.”
Linda H. Staaf, head of intelligence for the Swedish Police, stated, “Thanks to valuable intelligence that the FBI has shared with us, we have been able to arrest a significant number of leading actors within the violent crime and drug networks in Sweden.”