Unlike typical cell phones, the devices don't make phone calls or browse the internet — but allow for secure messaging. As an outgrowth of the operation, the FBI also recruited a collaborator who was developing a next-generation secure-messaging platform for the criminal underworld called ANOM. The collaborator engineered the system to give the agency access to any messages being sent. "There was a void that was created by a lack of these encrypted platforms," Shivers said, of the initial move to take down apps previously used by gangs. They say the number of active ANOM users was only 3,000 until Sky, one of the platforms previously used by criminal gangs, was dismantled in March.

Source: CBC News June 08, 2021 19:07 UTC