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The Twitter account beforehand related to the ANOM chat app is posting frivolous tweets this week. However, is it an account hijack, as some could marvel? Maybe not.
ANOM was a faux encrypted messaging platform created as a part of a worldwide sting operation led by the U.S. FBI, Australian Federal Police (AFP), and different legislation enforcement businesses to catch criminals.
Troll away, ANOM!
As seen by BleepingComputer at present, ANOM’s Twitter account @anomsecure carries a revised bio that states “we’re not federal brokers,” in an try and mock ANOM’s goal.
ANOM’s Twitter account’s bio states “we’re not federal brokers”
“Somebody has taken over the social media accounts of ΛNØM, an encrypted telephone messaging service that was reportedly used as a legislation enforcement sting, to tweet claims that they are not FBI…,” wrote Matthew Hickey aka Hacker Unbelievable, co-founder of cybersecurity consultancy Hacker Home, referring to the continued tweets revealed from the account:
Mock tweets from ANOM’s Twitter
In June, BleepingComputer unveiled ANOM’s inception was a part of a large legislation enforcement initiative dubbed Operation Ironside, or Operation Trojan Defend that ran between 2018 and 2021.
Throughout this time, the FBI, AFP, Europol, and numerous legislation enforcement businesses collaborated to create a faux encrypted messaging platform known as Anom that was bought solely to criminals.
The platform allowed the authorities to intercept the messages and conversations between criminals.
After reviewing 27 million messages the place criminals mentioned their actions on the Anom platform, legislation enforcement was capable of arrest 800 individuals and seize 8 tons of cocaine, 22 tons of hashish and hashish resin, 2 tons of artificial medicine (amphetamine and methamphetamine), 6 tons of artificial medicine precursors, 250 firearms, 55 luxurious automobiles and over $48 million in numerous worldwide currencies and cryptocurrencies.
On the time, Europol acknowledged that many international locations participated within the worldwide coalition: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK incl. Scotland, and america.
This made Operation Ironside the “largest and most subtle legislation enforcement operations thus far.”
Twitter account had disappeared in June
Previous to ANOM’s social media account posting mock tweets of at present, in June, the account’s bio linked to the anom.io area and had a extra plausible description:
“Encrypted Messaging Platform, Preserve Secrets and techniques Secure || App that enforces your Privateness #Anom…”
ANOM’s Twitter account as seen in June 2021
Later in June, the @anomsecure Twitter account had utterly disappeared, resulting in a “nothing to see right here… seems to be like this web page would not exist” message, as confirmed by BleepingComputer.
This might have occurred, for instance, if the Twitter username was modified, and the @anomsecure deal with grew to become obtainable for anybody to say.
Twitter clearly states that “as soon as you modify your username, your earlier username will instantly be obtainable to be used by another person.”
Across the similar time, as Operation Ironside was being made public information, the anom.io area was set to show a “area seized” discover by the legislation enforcement businesses, which continues to be up at present.
anom.io area seized across the time when Operation Ironside was unveiled
Since then, the oldest tweet nonetheless obtainable at present from @anomsecure, as seen by BleepingComputer, dates again to July twenty third. And, the account’s “joined” date states “July 2021,” versus “March 2019” listed within the June screenshot above.
It’s due to this fact trying more and more seemingly that quite than an account hijack, that is merely a case of @anomsecure deal with turning into obtainable in some unspecified time in the future in time, and claimed July 4th, 2021 by a troll who’s behind the brand new bio and mock tweets.
BleepingComputer has reached out to a number of legislation enforcement businesses related to ANOM for remark and we’re awaiting their response.
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