The police force from the Netherlands announced last week that they compromised the Exclu messaging platform after breaching its services to eavesdrop on the activities of cybercriminal groups.
This operation included investigations starting September 2020 and April 2022, respectively. Law enforcement agencies executed about 79 targeted searches in multiple European countries, such as Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands. The operations resulted in the arrest of 42 individuals.
The Netherlands held at least 11 persons linked to the Exclu messaging platform.
Based on reports, the police searched 22 locations and arrested 11 persons, solely in the Netherlands, with connections to the Exclu messaging platform.
Dutch authorities revealed that they utilised their expertise in cybercrime and technology to infiltrate the Exclu service, identify its users, and obliterate its infrastructure.
Cybersecurity experts explained that the Exclu platform sells subscriptions, enabling users to exchange encrypted files. In addition, the police revealed that the application had more than 3,000 users, of which 750 came from the Netherlands.
Law enforcement agencies currently have all communication data, which they use to continue their project. This ability could uncover unknown activities and give evidence to support charges against the defendants.
Unfortunately, a segment of Exclu’s user base includes professionals in critical fields, like investigators, notaries, lawyers, and doctors, which need complete privacy. The platform urges these users to contact authorities and request the deletion of their data from the confiscated servers.
Some individuals prefer these discreet communication services to well-known end-to-end encrypted products since they offer extreme confidentiality and layered encryption and security.
Furthermore, this unpopular crypt-phone services like Exclu are less likely to be spotted and targeted by law enforcement, enabling the threat actors to keep their anonymity from the public.
A similar messaging platform called EncroChat has already included 60,000 users in their service. This service sells subscriptions for about €1,500 per six months and provides 24-hour customer support.
The Australian Federal Police and the FBI also developed a fake end-to-end encrypted chat service called ANOM to monitor the activities of cybercriminal groups. This operation allowed them to arrest nearly 800 individuals.
