GLOBAL STING BEGAN BY CREATING MESSAGE SERVICE FOR CROOKS
When the FBI dismantled an encrypted messaging service based in Canada in 2018, agents noticed users moving to other networks. Instead of following their tracks to rivals, investigators decided on a new tactic: creating their own service.
ANOM, a secure-messaging service built by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, launched in October 2019 and solidified its following after authorities took down another rival. Popularity spread by word of mouth.
When ANOM was taken down, authorities had collected more than 27 million messages from about 12,000 devices in 45 languages — a vast
