Someone in control of an email address long associated with Encrochat, a company that sells custom encrypted phones often used by organized criminals, tells Motherboard the company is shutting down after a law enforcement hacking operation against its customers. From a report: The news comes as law enforcement agencies have arrested multiple criminal users of Encrochat across Europe in what appears to be a large scale, coordinated operation against the phone network and its users. “We have been forced to make the difficult decision to shut down our service and our business permanently,” the person wrote in an email to Motherboard. “This [sic] following several attacks carried out by a foreign organization that seems to originate in the UK.” The email address has been linked to Encrochat for years, but Motherboard could not confirm the identity of the person currently using the account. Motherboard also separately obtained screenshots of text messages sent over the past week of alleged Encrochat users discussing a wave of arrests associated with the Encrochat takeover. Encrochat is part of the encrypted phone industry, which sells devices pre-loaded with private messaging apps, sometimes have the GPS or camera functionality physically removed, and can be remotely wiped by the user.
of this story at Slashdot.
Source:: Slashdot