Australian police have successfully infiltrated Ghost, an encrypted global communications app developed for criminals, resulting in the arrest of dozens of suspects. The alleged administrator of the app, a 32-year-old individual, appeared in a Sydney court facing charges related to supporting a criminal organization and benefiting from proceeds of crime. The suspect did not enter pleas and will remain in custody until the case returns to court in November.
Law enforcement agencies in Australia, Canada, Sweden, Ireland, and Italy collaborated in recent days to arrest a total of 38 suspects across four Australian states. According to Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner, the app was used by various criminal groups including Italian organized crime, motorcycle gangs, Middle Eastern organized crime, and Korean organized crime for activities such as drug trafficking and ordering killings.
Australian police claim to have prevented 50 potential incidents of violence by monitoring threats within the app's messages and video calls since March. The app, allegedly developed specifically for criminal use in 2017, was targeted by a global taskforce led by Europol in 2022.
Technical resources provided by France's National Cyber Command Technical Department were instrumental in decrypting the communications within the app. Australian police were able to access the content on devices by modifying software updates pushed out by the administrator. The suspect, who lived with his parents in Sydney and had no prior criminal record, was arrested at his residence.
The administrator reportedly used a network of resellers to offer specialized handsets to criminals worldwide. These modified smartphones were sold for 2,350 Australian dollars, including a six-month subscription to Ghost and technical support.
