#cipherphone

Accessing #EncroChat Data by the Defence

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
5 min

Accessing #EncroChat Data by the Defence

In many Dutch cases, the defence argued all the collected EncroChat data should be disclosed to the defence as part of the principle of the equality of arms (article 6 echr). Suspects were confronted with EncroChat data, which incriminated them for serious crimes such as murder, participating in a criminal enterprise and drug trafficking. In order to challenge evidence derived from the EncroChat operation, the defence argued the data should be accessible in order (a) to revie

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A Good Practice: Extra Safeguards to Process Shared (Bulk) Data Like in the #Encrochat case

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
7 min

A Good Practice: Extra Safeguards to Process Shared (Bulk) Data Like in the #Encrochat case

In the Netherlands, an “extra” warrant – thus after the interception of the EncroChat data by French authorities in the case against EncroChat – was requested by the public prosecution service in order to use the data in other investigations. At first, not much was known about the extra warrant. After approximately one year and three months since the first case law following the EncroChat operation, more details about the warrant became known and were tested in court. In the

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Dutch Approach to #Encrochat Foreign Evidence Gathering and Sharing Data

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
5 min

Dutch Approach to #Encrochat Foreign Evidence Gathering and Sharing Data

In the Netherlands, Dutch defence lawyers (extensively) debated a theory that the evidence was illegally obtained under Dutch law and should therefore be excluded. Dutch courts disagreed. As a principle of mutual trust, the Dutch judiciary does not investigate the legitimacy of the evidence that has been gathered by foreign law enforcement authorities on foreign territory any further, unless it interferes with the right to a fair trial. For example, the Court of Rotterdam con

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Processing and Sharing the Illegally obtained #EncroChat Data in a jit

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
6 min

Processing and Sharing the Illegally obtained #EncroChat Data in a jit

With the technical complexities and transnational character of the use of EncroChat cryptophones in mind, the decision to start a jit appears to be a good choice. Apparently, French law enforcement authorities took the lead in the investigation. As a result, based on the EU Convention on Mutual Assistance, the activities took place under French criminal procedure law. The law enforcement officials could have been allowed to be present when the investigative measures took pla

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The Unlawful #EncroChat Operation – Processing Data: Phase 2

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
6 min

The Unlawful #EncroChat Operation – Processing Data: Phase 2

In Phase 2 of the operation, the French Gendarmerie shared the collected data with the Dutch Police and Europol. The data was then distributed to other European partners, including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway. A large, dedicated team at Europol investigated – in real time – millions of messages and data received from jit partners during the investigation. The team cross-checked and analysed the data and provided and coordinated with the jit partners the information

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#Encrochat Lesson Learned: the Right to a Fair Trial is a Transparency Enabler

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
7 min

#Encrochat Lesson Learned: the Right to a Fair Trial is a Transparency Enabler

In the Dutch EncroChat cases, it proved difficult for the defence to obtain information about the way the evidence was collected and which investigatory powers were used. After unrelenting questions from criminal defence lawyers, more details finally became available through Dutch court decisions. These details, coupled with the official press releases about the operation, made it possible to reconstruct the EncroChat operation . Keeping the operation secret challenges the ri

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Collecting Data From #EncroChat Phones was a severe violation of basic Human Rights in Europe!

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
6 min

Collecting Data From #EncroChat Phones was a severe violation of basic Human Rights in Europe!

In Phase 1 of the operation, all incoming and outcoming communication was intercepted from approximately 60.000 mobile phones. From 1 April 2020, at 17:15 hours, until the 20 June 2020, 17:20 hours, the French Gendarmerie collected the data from the it infrastructure at an internet service provider in France. With more than 60 officers, the Gendarmerie led the investigation targeting the EncroChat encrypted telephone solution under the supervision of the magistrates of the ju

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The EncroChat Operation – The Unlawful & Illegal Collecting of Data against any privacy rights !

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 19
6 min

The EncroChat Operation – The Unlawful & Illegal Collecting of Data against any privacy rights !

Since 2017, the French Gendarmerie and Dutch law enforcement authorities discovered that suspects involved in organised crime regularly used EncroChat phones. Given the widespread use of the encrypted telephone solution by EncroChat in organised crime, the French authorities decided to open a case at Eurojust with the Netherlands in 2019. In 2020, France and the Netherlands decided to take action and started a jit. According to Europol’s definition, ‘a joint investigation tea

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Criminal gang jailed for more than 200 years after #Encrochat investigation into encrypted phones

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 16
6 min

Criminal gang jailed for more than 200 years after #Encrochat investigation into encrypted phones

A criminal gang which was dealing massive amounts of drugs in Leicestershire has been put behind bars for more than 200 years after a police across Europe cracked an encrypted online communication service they were using to communicate. The service, called EncroChat, provided modified smartphones that allowed its 60,000 subscribers to message each other in secret. But French police discovered in 2017 that it was being used mainly by organised crime gangs to communicate. The i

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#Encrochat News: Drug dealers running UK’s cocaine market warned to stay away from Liverpool

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 16
6 min

#Encrochat News: Drug dealers running UK’s cocaine market warned to stay away from Liverpool

A gangs expert has claimed drug dealers running the majority of the UK's cocaine market have been warned to stay away from Liverpool. Migration from Albania has allowed gangs from the country to take over trafficking networks in key cities across Europe, and as a result the National Crime Agency has stated that violent Albanian criminal groups now dominate the criminal world in Britain. Police sources told the Telegraph that the majority of the record 11 tonnes of cocaine sei

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Warrington #Encrochat Hacked man among 22 jailed over large class A drug ring

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 16
5 min

Warrington #Encrochat Hacked man among 22 jailed over large class A drug ring

James Morris is one of 22 men facing a total of more than 200 years in prison over the illegal enterprise. Their downfall came after an encrypted chat platform they used to organise and facilitate the supply of industrial amounts of cocaine and heroin across the UK was dismantled. In 2020, a joint operation between UK, French and Dutch authorities led to the takedown of EncroChat – a communication service which was found to be used by criminals to plan and coordinate illegal

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#Encrochat South Essex dealer who made £2.7m tried to smuggle cocaine to Iceland inside himself

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 16
6 min

#Encrochat South Essex dealer who made £2.7m tried to smuggle cocaine to Iceland inside himself

A south Essex drug dealer who tried to smuggle cocaine into Iceland inside himself has been jailed after already making over £2.7 million from his UK operation. Bradley Pryer, 24, and fellow crook Cain Adams, 23, were caught by a sniffer dog with more than £6,000 of cocaine hidden inside themselves. The pair were arrested at Stansted Airport last April, before they boarded a flight to Reykjavik. They were sniffed out by a drugs dog and found to be carrying cocaine - which the

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#Encrochat Drug crime: Hamburg police arrest 260 dealers after Encrochat investigations

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 16
5 min

#Encrochat Drug crime: Hamburg police arrest 260 dealers after Encrochat investigations

With the cracking of the encryption technology of the so-called encrochat cell phones, investigators in many countries suddenly had real data gold in their hands. The Hamburg police have also tracked down numerous drug dealers. HAmburg drug investigators have been able to arrest several hundred drug dealers in recent years thanks to the Encrochat investigations. “The Department for Organized Crime in the State Criminal Police Office has meanwhile executed almost 260 arrest wa

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Academic Discussion about the legality of #Encrochat evidences collected by unlawful hacking.

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 8
8 min

Academic Discussion about the legality of #Encrochat evidences collected by unlawful hacking.

The judge decided that the EncroChat messages were properly regarded as falling within IPA 2016, s 4(4)(b). At the relevant time when the messages were made available, they were not ‘being transmitted’. He found that the defence approach sought to extend the notion of transmission well beyond anything contemplated by IPA 2016 and that the exclusionary provisions of IPA 2016, s 56 did not apply. He also decided that the data had been obtained by conduct in France, and not in t

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#Encrochat ‘intercepted evidence’ is 100% illegal.

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 8
6 min

#Encrochat ‘intercepted evidence’ is 100% illegal.

Defendants already at the Crown Court challenged the use of this data in criminal proceedings, arguing that it amounted to ‘intercept evidence’. This type of evidence is highly regulated. In basic terms, warrants permitting its collection and admissibility have to be authorised by a secretary of state and approved by a judge. Intercept evidence is defined as ‘making available the content of a communication to someone other than the sender or intended recipient during the cour

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Is evidence obtained from secret messaging apps admissible in EncroChat criminal proceedings?

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 8
6 min

Is evidence obtained from secret messaging apps admissible in EncroChat criminal proceedings?

Messages exchanged through the EncroChat messaging app between handsets were designed to be end-to-end encrypted. In effect, the app provided secret communications. The company also developed a type of Android operating system, and smartphones commonly referred to as ‘carbon units’ for the purposes of exchanging the encrypted messages. In June 2020, the company warned that the handsets had been compromised. French and Dutch police experts managed to place a piece of malware (

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The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 7
6 min

#Encrochat £30m money laundering scam

Six defendants including a senior manager and two drivers of a road haulage business have been imprisoned on Friday 6 January 2023 of running a large-scale money laundering operation involving in excess of £30 million in cash. Marcus Justin Hughes (DOB: 08/09/1970) the effective operator of Genesis 2014 (Ltd) UK, a road haulage business, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment at Stoke Crown Court for two counts of conspiracy to launder cash together along with Leon Woolley (D

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Hampshire drug dealer jailed after encrypted messages on Encrochat are deciphered by police

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 7
6 min

Hampshire drug dealer jailed after encrypted messages on Encrochat are deciphered by police

Malcolm Floyd, of Shepperton, Surrey, admitted conspiring to supply a controlled drug of Class A (cocaine) and conspiring to supply a controlled drug of Class B (cannabis) at a previous court hearing at Southampton Crown Court on 10 December 2021. The 53-year-old was sentenced to eight years and five months' imprisonment in addition to a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO), which will be in place for five years from his release. Glen Hewes, of Telegraph Road, Southampton, p

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#Encrochat: Six jailed over £30m money laundering operation based around haulage firm

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 7
6 min

#Encrochat: Six jailed over £30m money laundering operation based around haulage firm

Six men have been jailed over a £30million money laundering scam which saw dirty money passed through a haulage firm. The Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands smashed the plot to clean cash via haulier Genesis 2014 (UK) Ltd. Marcus Justin Hughes, the effective operator of Genesis 2014, used an encrypted network phone on the Encrochat network to communicate with Craig Johnson, a convicted fraudster from Stoke-on-Trent, who was based in Dubai. They agreed that la

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Malcolm Floyd, Glen Hewes and Cassandra Potter were all arrested because of the #Encrochat Hack

The DigitalBank Vault

Jan 7
6 min

Malcolm Floyd, Glen Hewes and Cassandra Potter were all arrested because of the #Encrochat Hack

Malcolm Floyd, Glen Hewes and Cassandra Potter were all arrested after encrypted global communication service, Encrochat, was taken down by police agencies. Data uncovered from the operation revealed the trio had been involved in the sale of class A and B drugs. The court heard how encrypted messages attributed to the trio showed their involvement in the supply of drugs and the movement of money, including Floyd orchestrating the crimes while he was in Thailand. On June 12,

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