Current Events > FBI invented a trojan encrypted-app and gave it to unsuspecting gangsters.

(+) Yeah! (+)

FBI-run messaging app tricks gangs, leads to hundreds of arrests in global sting
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-08/global-sting-fbi-messaging-app-tricks-organized-crime

Brave new world .

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Feds is watching

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If you're not cautious about your shit, you bring this on yourself. Good job owning yourselves, criminals.

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That's one thing a lot of people don't understand about these "encrypted apps."

There may be encryption, but you have no real way of knowing whether it's unencrypted and then re-encrypted before the message reaches its destination.

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Haven't they been doing stuff like this for like 15 years + now?

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All this does is feed the tinfoil-hatters who aren't even doing anything worth hiding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAfNefX3faI

CableZL posted...

That's one thing a lot of people don't understand about these "encrypted apps."

There may be encryption, but you have no real way of knowing whether it's unencrypted and then re-encrypted before the message reaches its destination.

That's essentially the problem quantum encryption solves.

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CableZL posted...

There may be encryption, but you have no real way of knowing whether it's unencrypted and then re-encrypted before the message reaches its destination.

If it's open source and you (or someone you trust) has reviewed the source code, you do.

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Trumble posted...

If it's open source and you (or someone you trust) has reviewed the source code, you do.

No not unless you are personally comparing hashes on the stuff you install. The thing about open source is that the FBI has access to that code too.

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foss software, foss hardware, and verifiable/zk computing is the only way to go in the long term

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isn't this illegal?

Good, fuck those criminals

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Wait so the feds passed around burners within this operation? Lol
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fohstick posted...

isn't this illegal?

No, as long as it's part of court-approved warranted investigation.

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I guess this doesnt fall under Entrapment?

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Weezy_Tha_Don posted...

I guess this doesnt fall under Entrapment?

Nah. There's nothing illegal about using a messaging app.

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Weezy_Tha_Don posted...

I guess this doesnt fall under Entrapment?

The FBI didn't ask the gangsters to commit a crime.

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good now make one to catch Trump

CADE FOSTER posted...

good now make one to catch Trump

Now introducing the new Twitterr app

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fohstick posted...

isn't this illegal?

It was an international conspiracy

I dont think Illegal was on anyones mind

Say some gangster is dissing your fly girl. Just give him one of these.

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Im glad they blew it up

evil is evil

The world is changing

We cant stay here forever

I for one am glad that drugs are off the street.

However I'm curious as to how the FBI intends to dispose of 32 tons of drugs.

Drugs can only be used or sold and serve no other purpose.

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Really not into government agencies violating expectations of privacy, tbh.

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Wii_Shaker posted...

I for one am glad that drugs are off the street.

However I'm curious as to how the FBI intends to dispose of 32 tons of drugs.

Drugs can only be used or sold and serve no other purpose.

Use it for other operations to bust people.

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COVxy posted...

Really not into government agencies violating expectations of privacy, tbh.

I say let them do it. Fuck privacy.

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COVxy posted...

Really not into government agencies violating expectations of privacy, tbh.

Imagining anything we do today in the constant evolving tech world will be private is silly. How about not belonging to a drug/gang/cartel ring and having nothing to worry about?

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WashYourHands posted...

Imagining anything we do today in the constant evolving tech world will be private is silly. How about not belonging to a drug/gang/cartel ring and having nothing to worry about?

Trust the system.

What could go wrong?

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Badass logo for the operation



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There is zero mention of warrants, authorization or legal cover for what effectively constitutes a massive wiretapping operation.

People literally just assume it was ok and they didnt break any laws. Automatic belief. 100 countries and this disnt run afoul of any laws? Uh-huh . . .

Cuz after all, law enforcement never does things its not allowed to, like, ever.

Artemis86 posted...

There is zero mention of warrants, authorization or legal cover for what effectively constitutes a massive wiretapping operation.

People literally just assume it was ok and they didnt break any laws. Automatic belief. 100 countries and this disnt run afoul of any laws? Uh-huh . . .

Cuz after all, law enforcement never does things its not allowed to, like, ever.

If I am reading the articles about this correctly, it wasnt just the FBI that was in on this, a bunch of other country's law enforcement were in on it as well.

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The lesson here is to make your own crypto, in-house.

...right?

Wii_Shaker posted...

I for one am glad that drugs are off the street.

However I'm curious as to how the FBI intends to dispose of 32 tons of drugs.

Drugs can only be used or sold and serve no other purpose.

They hold the drugs to use as evidence in trials, use them to make drug busts in cases, they dispose of them via incinerator.

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Questionmarktarius posted...

The lesson here is to make your own crypto, in-house.

...right?

everything is just a bitwise ceaser cipher, dont tell the feebee.

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I'm glad qfor the result but this is a troubling precedent. Monitoring communications when the people are displaying a reasonable expectation of privacy is straight up unconstitutional, though I'm sure there's some gray areas here.

so the operatives provided phones with this tech on it and the gangs used it. that doesn't seem so complex to me.

if i use a third-party encryption app with a key system, that would seem to be immune to operations like this, yes? as far as them just being able to spy on me willy nilly. this case sounds akin to social engineering.

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berlyman101 posted...

so the operatives provided phones with this tech on it and the gangs used it. that doesn't seem so complex to me.

if i use a third-party encryption app with a key system, that would seem to be immune to operations like this, yes? as far as them just being able to spy on me willy nilly. this case sounds akin to social engineering.

I try and convert it to a more analog analogy. Like, I'd say this is equal to if they provided a landlines phone that had a listening device. That would still be illegal, unless they had a warrant. How they get access to the communications is irrelevant unless someone is willingly and knowingly giving them access.

berlyman101 posted...

so the operatives provided phones with this tech on it and the gangs used it. that doesn't seem so complex to me.

if i use a third-party encryption app with a key system, that would seem to be immune to operations like this, yes? as far as them just being able to spy on me willy nilly. this case sounds akin to social engineering.

Looks like they got their hands on a guy that made the encrypted devices for criminals and then had him push out their version to seem legitimate and then went after the competition so that criminals would use their devices as other options got busted and let them hang them selves basically.

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LightHawKnight posted...

Looks like they got their hands on a guy that made the encrypted devices for criminals and then had him push out their version to seem legitimate and then went after the competition so that criminals would use their devices as other options got busted and let them hang them selves basically.

right. so not some high complexity deencryption

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Wii_Shaker posted...

I for one am glad that drugs are off the street.

However I'm curious as to how the FBI intends to dispose of 32 tons of drugs.

Drugs can only be used or sold and serve no other purpose.

Party at the CIA FBI?
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OffTempo posted...

They hold the drugs to use as evidence in trials, use them to make drug busts in cases, they dispose of them via incinerator.

Unless you are Mexico. Burn some of it for show then sell the rest back to the cartels. Iirc they actually did that once. Made a huge stack of what appeared to be drugs but it was just the outer layer the middle was all wood.

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About time the Fed started hacking criminals.

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How did the gangsters acquire said APP anyway? Did other normal people get the APP too?

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ah okay I just was wondering if the app was on the store or something lame like that and everybody who downloaded it got scoped

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