European authorities, led by Europol, have dismantled an encrypted messaging service called MATRIX, which was used for international drug and arms trafficking
According to Reuters*, the service was discovered on the phone of a criminal involved in the 2021 murder of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries. Over three months, Dutch and French authorities intercepted and deciphered more than 2.3 million messages in 33 languages, revealing links to serious crimes. The main servers in France and Germany were taken down, with arrests made in France and Spain, and searches conducted in Lithuania.
Criminals flourish on hidden and secure communication channels so for an encrypted service used for illicit means to be shutdown is both significant and impressive. The interception and removal of the platform highlights the ongoing work taken by law enforcement in attempting to intervene in digital spaces. However, it also reminds us of the current challenges facing police forces around the world. Capturing evidence will still remain at the heart of the investigation as few prosecutions in cybercrime make it to a court hearing.
Although locating admissible evidence will remain difficult, this takedown will act as a significant blow to those who use the messaging service and severely disrupt those criminal networks that rely on it.
by Jake Moore, ESET
*ESET does not bear any responsibility for the accuracy of this information.
ESET Ireland 