{"id":40017,"date":"2021-03-15T23:57:08","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T23:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/us-govt-indicted-me-because-i-make-privacy-tools-says-crypto-chat-app-ceo-accused-of-helping-drug-smugglers\/"},"modified":"2021-03-15T23:57:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T23:57:08","slug":"us-govt-indicted-me-because-i-make-privacy-tools-says-crypto-chat-app-ceo-accused-of-helping-drug-smugglers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/us-govt-indicted-me-because-i-make-privacy-tools-says-crypto-chat-app-ceo-accused-of-helping-drug-smugglers\/","title":{"rendered":"US govt indicted me because I make privacy tools, says crypto-chat app CEO accused of helping drug smugglers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The CEO of Sky Global \u2013 which sold encryption chat software with customized smartphones \u2013 has come out fighting after Uncle Sam charged him with knowingly assisting the international drug smuggling trade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe indictment against me personally in the United States is an example of the police and the government trying to vilify anyone who takes a stance against unwarranted surveillance,\u201d Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Eap, of Canadian-based Sky Global, said in a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.globenewswire.com\/news-release\/2021\/03\/15\/2192431\/0\/en\/Sky-Global-s-CEO-responds-to-recent-news-reports.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a> following the indictment announced on Friday.<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" data-pos=\"top\" data-raptor=\"condor\" data-xsm=\",button,mpu,\" data-sm=\",button,mpu,\" data-md=\",button,banner_plus,mpu\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2YFCNrZwbuA@Wcz2UfxRmtQAAAFI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2YFCNrZwbuA@Wcz2UfxRmtQAAAFI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt seems that it is simply not enough that you have not done anything illegal,\u201d Eap continued. \u201cThere is no question that I have been targeted, as Sky Global has been targeted, only because we build tools to protect the fundamental right to privacy. The unfounded allegations of involvement in criminal activity by me and our company are entirely false.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those allegations are serious: one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; and a second count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances \u2013 including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine \u2013 which also comes with a life-in-prison maximum sentence. The Sky Global <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/skyglobal.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a> has also been seized.<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" data-pos=\"mid\" data-raptor=\"eagle\" data-xsm=\",button,mpu_plusplus,\" data-sm=\",button,mpu_plusplus,\" data-md=\",button,mpu_plusplus,\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33YFCNrZwbuA@Wcz2UfxRmtQAAAFI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33YFCNrZwbuA@Wcz2UfxRmtQAAAFI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<p>The US government <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-sdca\/pr\/sky-global-executive-and-associate-indicted-providing-encrypted-communication-devices\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">claimed<\/a> Eap and a former distributor of the company\u2019s devices, Thomas Herdman, \u201cknowingly and intentionally participated in a criminal enterprise that facilitated the transnational importation and distribution of narcotics through the sale and service of encrypted communications devices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Or, in other words, it is alleged they not only knew that the hardware and encrypted communications software Sky Global provided was being used by the drug smuggling trade to stop the cops from listening in on their conversations, but it actively helped their customers to evade surveillance knowing what they did was illegal.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Dept of Justice, &#8220;Sky Global installs sophisticated encryption software in iPhone, Google Pixel, Blackberry, and Nokia handsets. Sky Global device users communicate with each other in a closed network, and Sky Global routes these communications through encrypted servers located in Canada and France.&#8221; Indeed, the Canadian biz installed its subscription-based end-to-end encrypted chat software Sky ECC on handsets modified to disable their microphones, cameras, and GPS.<\/p>\n<p>Uncle Sam&#8217;s prosecutors added that the biz provided a \u201cguarantee&#8221; that messages &#8220;stored on its devices can and will be remotely deleted by the company if the device is seized by law enforcement or otherwise compromised,\u201d as evidence of complicity.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"crosshead\"> <span>Phantom toll booth<\/span><br \/>\n<\/h3>\n<p>The US government doesn\u2019t appear to have the same kind of direct evidence it <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2018\/10\/03\/phone_ceo_pleads_guilty\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">used to put away<\/a> the CEO of a similar company, Phantom Secure, back in 2018, however. In that case, CEO Vincent Ramos himself was recorded saying that it was &#8220;totally fine&#8221; to send a message that explicitly referenced drug smuggling (the message was &#8220;sending MDMA to Montreal&#8221;) and he was caught telling undercover agents that his phones were used for drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>The Feds also persuaded a former cartel member, and Phantom Secure customer, to testify against Ramos; all of which resulted in him lodging a guilty plea and receiving a 20-year sentence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"promo_article\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/regmedia.co.uk\/2017\/09\/25\/phone-jail.jpg?x=174&amp;amp;y=115&amp;amp;crop=1\" width=\"174\" height=\"115\" alt=\"phantom\"><\/p>\n<h2 title=\"Phantom Secure's Vincent Ramos faces 20 years in clink\">CEO pleads guilty of conspiring with drug cartels to sell them stealthy Blackberrys<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2018\/10\/03\/phone_ceo_pleads_guilty\/\"><span>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p>In the case of Sky Global, the US government claims Eap learned from the Phantom Secure case and so \u201cinstituted an \u2018ask nothing\/do nothing\u2019 approach toward its clients shortly after the takedown of Phantom Secure. This policy allowed for Sky Global to claim plausible deniability from the activities of their clients that they knew &#8211; or had reason to know &#8211; participated in illegal activities, including international drug trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the case appears to be built around messages that European law enforcement managed <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2021\/03\/10\/sky_ecc_encrypted_phones_belgium_police_raids\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to obtain<\/a> earlier this year. Last week, investigators in Belgium, France and the Netherlands <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.europol.europa.eu\/newsroom\/news\/new-major-interventions-to-block-encrypted-communications-of-criminal-networks\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a> they had circumvented Sky\u2019s security and encryption which allowed for \u201cthe continuous monitoring of the criminal use of the Sky ECC communication service tool&#8230; [that] has provided invaluable insights into hundreds of millions of messages exchanged between criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That led to a \u201clarge number of arrests\u201d of people within organized crime groups as well as the seizure of \u201cthousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine, hundreds of firearms, and millions of Euros.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"crosshead\"> <span>Crack team<\/span><br \/>\n<\/h3>\n<p>That swoop follows the infiltration of a similar platform, EncroChat, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2020\/07\/02\/encrochat_op_venetic_encrypted_phone_arrests\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">last year<\/a>, indicating that there is clearly a dedicated investigative team working on encrypted chat platforms they suspect are being used by criminal gangs.<\/p>\n<p>A number of mobile phones were seized earlier this year that contained the Sky ECC software and investigators started from there. The authorities estimate that roughly 170,000 people worldwide use the software to send three million messages a day. Investigators said the company \u201chas its own infrastructure and applications and is operated from the United States and Canada, using computer servers based in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sky Global and its Sky ECC software effectively created a closed encrypted network, the US Dept of Justice said. It claims Sky Global \u201cgenerated hundreds of millions of dollars providing a service that allowed criminal networks around the world to hide their international drug trafficking activity from law enforcement.\u201d The result, said acting US Attorney Randy Grossman, is \u201cthe deadliest drug epidemic in our nation\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to reports, before the Sky Global website was taken down, it denied any connection to the European investigation and instead blamed \u201cdisgruntled\u201d former distributor Herdman for setting up a fake, and insecure, version of the Sky ECC app.<\/p>\n<p>In his statement, Eap denied any connection to organized crime: \u201cI do not condone illegal activity in any way, shape or form, and nor does our company.<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"adun\" data-pos=\"top\" data-raptor=\"falcon\" data-xsm=\",button,dbutton,mpu_plus,dmpu,\" data-sm=\",button,dbutton,mpu_plus,dmpu,\" data-md=\",button,dbutton,mpu_plus,dmpu,\"> <noscript> <a href=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/jump?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44YFCNrZwbuA@Wcz2UfxRmtQAAAFI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?co=1&amp;iu=\/6978\/reg_security\/front&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44YFCNrZwbuA@Wcz2UfxRmtQAAAFI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0\" alt> <\/a> <\/noscript> <\/div>\n<p>&#8220;We stand for protection of privacy and freedom of speech in an era when these rights are under increasing attack. We do not condone illegal or unethical behavior by our partners or customers. To brand anyone who values privacy and freedom of speech as a criminal is an outrage. In the coming days, my efforts will be focused on clearing my name of these allegations.\u201d \u00ae<\/p>\n<p> READ MORE <a href=\"https:\/\/go.theregister.com\/feed\/www.theregister.com\/2021\/03\/15\/sky_global_indicted\/\">HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sky Global\u2019s Jean-Francois Eap denies any wrongdoing The CEO of Sky Global \u2013 which sold encryption chat software with customized smartphones \u2013 has come out fighting after Uncle Sam charged him with knowingly assisting the international drug smuggling trade.\u2026  READ MORE HERE&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-register"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with 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