EncroChat was a global encrypted phone network used extensively by criminals since 2016.
After an infiltration by law enforcement bodies, top tier criminals were arrested. Many were believed to be involved in gun smuggling and drug trafficking crimes.
The encrypted messaging system first came to the attention of the French Gendarmerie in 2017, which said it was regularly finding the phones when conducting operations against organised crime gangs.
They eventually discovered that EncroChat was operating from servers based in France and were eventually able "to put a technical device in place" which allowed them to access the encrypted messages sent over the company's network
UK authorities seized £54m in cash and 1.5 tonnes of cocaine.
The company is now offline since the infiltration compromised their users' anonymity.
What is Encrochat?
EncroChat was one of the world’s largest encrypted communications services and was estimated to have 60,000 users across Europe, including 10,000 users in the UK.
Users were given an EncroPhone which came pre-loaded with private messaging apps which could send texts and picture messages to other EncroChat users.
The camera, microphone and GPS on the handsets were disabled for added security.
How did criminals use the EncroChat service?
Criminals felt secure enough to speak freely about their crimes whilst using the service.
Users paid thousands of dollars to use the service. Law enforcement services infiltrated the service but only 800 users were arrested.
In early June 2020 EncroChat users received a text message saying their data was no longer secure. EncroChat then ceased operations permanently.
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