The joint law enforcement operation resulted from a long-running investigation that began in 2020. The operation also included Italian, Swedish, and French police as well as Europol and Eurojust. Police breached the app and monitored the interactions of criminals for several months before the raid. “Their [Dutch police] specific expertise in cybercrime communications enabled them to follow the communications of criminal networks for a period of five months and subsequently dismantle the service,” Eurojust said in a press release on Monday. Exclu had about 3,000 users, including members of organized crime groups. Users could purchase a Є500 or Є800 license to use the encrypted messaging service for three or six months, respectively. Although Exclu’s official website still works, police have confirmed that the app is no longer active.
Exclu Investigation Dates Back to June 2020
German authorities started investigating Exclu in June 2020 after discovering its configuration files were hosted in an old NATO bunker in Traden-Trarbach, which is linked to dark web marketplaces where drugs and other illegal items were sold. German police had shut down the “cyberbunker,” known as CB3ROB, in 2019 before it was taken over by Exclu’s admin. The cross-border investigation into Exclu intensified in the five months leading up to the crackdown. About 1,200 police officers were involved in the coordinated raids on Feb. 3. Law enforcement discovered and destroyed two drug laboratories. Police also found Є5.5 million in cash as well as 300,000 ecstasy tablets, 20 firearms, and 200 phones. During their investigations, law enforcement hacked the app to monitor criminal activities and identify suspects. Dutch police said Exclu users who can “invoke legal privilege” should reach out via secrecyholders@OM.nl for their data to be deleted from the seized servers.
Breaking Encryption to Fight Crime
Exclu is the latest encrypted communication service that European law enforcement has shut down following EncroChat and Sky ECC in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Like Exclu, both apps were linked to criminal activities. While authorities are justified for breaching these apps to take down criminal networks, these developments raise questions about privacy. Exclu claimed its end-to-end encryption shields users from “sophisticated hacking attempts.” Some of the biggest messaging apps today, including WhatsApp, also offer end-to-end encryption. And, with dark web marketplaces in the crosshairs of law enforcement, cybercriminals are increasingly shifting to social media and encrypted messaging apps like Telegram to conduct their illegal activities. A Resecurity study from January also revealed that criminals are turning to custom Android apps to conduct their illegal activities. Are you concerned about privacy? Interested in learning what encrypted messaging apps you can trust? Check out our article on the best encrypted messaging apps.
