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The FBI’s Encrypted Phone Sting
Loaded on April 15, 2025
by Michael Thompson
published in Criminal Legal News
May, 2025, page 45
Filed under:
Cell Searches,
FBI,
Police State-Surveillance,
Electronic Surveillance.
Location:
United States of America.
by Michael Dean Thompson
A San Diego-based company called ANOM, often stylized as “ANØM,” distributed encrypted phones worldwide. These devices were stripped down, hardened against intrusion, and designed to allow messaging only between phones on the same closed network. Unbeknownst to users, the FBI intercepted every communication.
The FBI and ...
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More from this issue:
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, by Douglas Ankney
- Warrantless Device Inspections Surge at the U.S. Border, by David Kim
- Welcome to 2025: Where Your Freedoms Go to Die, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
- Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Teague’s ‘Watershed’ Rule Exception to Nonretroactivity of New Constitutional Rule of Criminal Procedure on Collateral Review Has ‘Continued Vitality’ in Connecticut, Adoption of Third Exception to Teague’s Nonretroacti, by Douglas Ankney
- ICE’s Expansive Surveillance Tool Monitors Hundreds of Websites and Apps, by James Mills
- Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, by Sagi Schwartzberg
- A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth, by Michael Thompson
- Cops’ Lie-Detecting Delusion: They Can’t Spot Lies Based on Nonverbal Cues or ‘Abnormal’ Behavior—Yet Keep Lying to Themselves (and Ruining Lives) That They Can, by David Kim
- Third-Hand Meth Contamination in Cars Poses Hidden Danger to Buyers and Renters, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Federal Government Circumventing Fourth Amendment by Buying Data From Data Brokers, by Anthony Accurso
- AI Identifies Sex From Skulls Faster and More Accurately Than Experts, by James Mills
- Bodycam Footage for Sale: Ohio Joins the List of States Charging Money for Bodycam Footage, While Others Restrict It Entirely, by James Mills
- Crowdsourcing a Map to Track License Plate Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Order of Deferred Disposition Not a ‘Sentence’ Under Article 44.01(b)—Which Authorizes State to Appeal Illegal Sentence—Resolving Split Among State Courts of Appeals, by David Reutter
- Treasury Lowers Cash Reporting Threshold to $200 for Southwest Border Counties, by James Mills
- NYPD Responds to 911 Calls with Drones, by James Mills
- Connecticut Compensates Exonerated Prisoners, Reforms Policing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Younger Generations Lead Decline in U.S. Support for Death Penalty, by Michael Thompson
- D.C. Police Continue Heavy Investment in Social Media Monitoring, by Anthony Accurso
- Questionable Retail Theft Panic Fuels More Mass Surveillance and Police Militarization, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Erred in Imposing ‘Managerial Role’ Enhancement Under Guidelines § 3B1.1(b) Without Making ‘Particularized Findings’ Regarding Scope of Criminal Activity and Number of Participants as Required by Guidelines §1B1.1, by Douglas Ankney
- Nearly 150 Exonerations in 2024 Highlight Persistent Flaws in U.S. Criminal Justice System, by David Kim
- Ninth Circuit Grants Stay and Abeyance of Federal Habeas Petition to Allow Petitioner to Exhaust State Remedies, by Sagi Schwartzberg
- The FBI’s Encrypted Phone Sting, by Michael Thompson
- Ninth Circuit Announces Attorney Cannot Be Compelled to Provide ‘Privilege Log’ Protected Under Fisher if Doing So Would Undermine Client’s Fifth Amendment ‘Act-of-Production Privilege’ and Attorney-Client Privilege, by Sagi Schwartzberg
- Fifth Circuit: Sentence Enhancement for Maintaining Drug Premises Not Satisfied Solely by Defendant’s Single, Conclusory Statement That He ‘Maintained’ Premises When Record Shows Mere ‘Use’ of Premises, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Michael Thompson:
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Religious Exercise Claim from Arizona “Christian-Israelite” Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, June 1, 2025
- A Black Box, a Guilty Plea, and an Uncertain Truth, April 15, 2025
- Younger Generations Lead Decline in U.S. Support for Death Penalty, April 15, 2025
- The FBI’s Encrypted Phone Sting, April 15, 2025
- FBI Pressured Forensic Science Group to Censor Critical Workshops, Emails Reveal, March 15, 2025
- Study Confirms New York City’s ShotSpotter Deployment Was a Costly Misstep, March 15, 2025
- How Online Behavioral Ads Fuel Mass Surveillance, March 15, 2025
- Can Comics Help Juries Understand Complex DNA Evidence?, March 15, 2025
- Reining in Police Monitoring of Social Media, Feb. 15, 2025
- Study: DNA Transfer in Social Settings, Feb. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Facial Recognition at the Border: CBP’s Push to Scan Every Car Passenger Sparks Privacy Concerns, May 15, 2025. Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Searches - Border Stops/Searches, Immigration Law/Offenses.
- Car Subscriptions: Another Means of Mass Surveillance by Law Enforcement, May 15, 2025. Vehicle Searches, Internet, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- $18,000 for New York Prisoner Who Alleged Guards Planted Shank in Cell, May 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Cell Searches, Settlements.
- New Jersey DOC Sued Twice for Turning “Blind Eye” to “Pervasive” Drug-Smuggling Blamed for Prisoner Deaths, May 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Drug Overdose, Cell Searches, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Drug Courier or "Mule" status.
- Welcome to 2025: Where Your Freedoms Go to Die, April 15, 2025. Government Misconduct, Police State-Surveillance.
- D.C. Police Continue Heavy Investment in Social Media Monitoring, April 15, 2025. Internet, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Social Media.
- ICE’s Expansive Surveillance Tool Monitors Hundreds of Websites and Apps, April 15, 2025. Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance, Immigration Law/Offenses, Social Media.
- Crowdsourcing a Map to Track License Plate Surveillance, April 15, 2025. Traffic stop, Police State-Surveillance.
- Questionable Retail Theft Panic Fuels More Mass Surveillance and Police Militarization, April 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Fraud and Theft Loss.
- NYPD Responds to 911 Calls with Drones, April 15, 2025. Computer Searches, Police State-Surveillance, Use of Drones.