Security News > 2021 > June > FBI paid renegade developer $180k for backdoored AN0M chat app that brought down drug underworld

The FBI has revealed how it managed to hoodwink the criminal underworld with its secretly backdoored AN0M encrypted chat app, leading to hundreds of arrests, the seizure of 32 tons of drugs, 250 firearms, 55 luxury cars, more than $148M, and even cocaine-filled pineapples.

"The CHS offered this next generation device, named 'AN0M,' to the FBI to use in ongoing and new investigations. The CHS also agreed to offer to distribute AN0M devices to some of the CHS's existing network of distributors of encrypted communications devices."

The CHS - who was paid $120,000 plus $59,000 in living and travel expenses by the authorities - worked with the FBI and the Australian Federal Police to hide a master decryption key into the AN0M app.

Presumably, the AN0M app was set up to send the messages to a server in Australia's jurisdiction.

Sales of AN0M grew steadily, and got a boost when French and Dutch police took down the EncroChat encrypted service in 2020.

After the latter take-down, AN0M sales tripled to more than 9000 handsets, each costing $1700 with a six-month subscription to the AN0M encrypted messaging network, Grossman said.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/fbi_trojan_shield/