Australian Police Crack Encrypted App ‘Ghost’, Leading to Dozens of Arrests
Australian police have successfully infiltrated the encrypted communications app “Ghost,” used by criminal organizations worldwide, leading to dozens of arrests across multiple countries, CNN reports.
The alleged administrator of the app, 32-year-old Jay Je Yoon Jung, was arrested in Sydney and charged with supporting a criminal organization and benefitting from proceeds of crime. He is currently in custody and will remain there until his next court appearance in November.
The operation, which involved police in Australia, Canada, Sweden, Ireland, and Italy, has resulted in the arrest of 38 suspects in Australia alone.
Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney stated that “hundreds of criminals” including members of Italian organized crime, motorcycle gangs, Middle Eastern organized crime, and Korean organized crime have used Ghost to facilitate illicit activities such as drug trafficking and ordering killings.
Assistant Commissioner Kirsty Schofield revealed that Australian police have prevented 50 potential victims from being killed, kidnapped, or seriously injured by monitoring threats communicated through the app. They analyzed over 125,000 messages and 120 video calls since March.
Police allege that Jung developed Ghost specifically for criminal use in 2017 and offered specialized handsets with a six-month subscription to the app and tech support for 2,350 Australian dollars ($1,590) through a network of resellers.
The operation relied on a collaborative effort with Europol and French authorities. Col. Florian Manet, head of France’s Home Affairs Ministry National Cyber Command Technical Department, said that French officers provided technical resources that helped decrypt the encrypted communications.
Australian police technicians were able to modify software updates sent by the administrator, allowing them to access the content of devices in Australia. Despite his alleged criminal activities, Jung lived with his parents in Sydney and had no previous criminal record.
