On Friday, Dutch police announced that they had hacked the encrypted communication platform Exclu to track criminal groups.
The process involved two separate investigations, one launched in September 2020 and the other in April 2022. Police also carried out 79 targeted searches in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, which led to the arrest of 42 people.
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Two of the arrested individuals appear to be the administrators and owners of the encrypted communication platform. Eurojust, Europol and the police of Italy , Sweden, France and Germany assisted in the police operations. The remaining 40 people arrested were users of the Exclu service, including operators of large drug laboratories, weapons, and over 4 million euros in cash! In the Netherlands, police conducted searches at 22 locations and arrested 11 people believed to be connected to the Exclu platform. The Dutch police used their technological knowledge of cybercrime to hack the Exclu service, expose its users and ultimately disrupt it. Exclu offered six-month subscriptions for 800 euros, which allowed users to send encrypted messages and multimedia, such as voice recordings, videos and images. Police say the app had around 3,000 users, 750 of whom lived in the Netherlands. Authorities now have access to all contact details, which they plan to use to continue their investigations , potentially leading to the discovery of more illegal activities and providing evidence to charge suspects. See also: Android Users: Uninstall These 12 Apps Immediately
However, some of Exclu’s users, such as lawyers, researchers, notaries and doctors, who work in “sensitive” industries and value privacy, are being asked to contact the police to request the deletion of their data from the seized servers.
Some individuals are choosing to use these lesser-known communication platforms instead of popular end-to-end alternatives such as Signal, which promises unparalleled confidentiality and multiple layers of encryption and security.
Furthermore, lesser-known encrypted communication services such as Exclu are less likely to be detected and targeted by law enforcement, allowing them to remain unknown to the general public for longer periods.
A similar platform, EncroChat, was taken down in July 2022, when several European police agencies worked together to dismantle the service and used the seized data to track down criminals.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
