How the French Hacked Criminal Networks

Summary

The video discusses the controversial actions of the French police, who planted spyware on phones globally in an effort to combat crime. This led to significant developments in the use of encrypted communication within criminal networks.

Key Points

• In 2016, Encrochat emerged as a popular encrypted phone company among criminals in Europe.
• Encrochat phones facilitated communication for drug trafficking and assassination plots.
• The phones received updates for security patches and new features from a server located in France.
• The French police obtained a warrant to access the Encrochat data center.
• Successfully, they deployed malware on thousands of users’ phones.
• The malware could track GPS locations and capture message content related to illegal activities.
• French authorities hacked the servers of Encrochat for surveillance purposes on its users.