‘Marketed as the “world’s most secure handset,” ,’ banks, online shops, even WhatsApp use end-to-end encryption. What most people will see if they try and hack into the system is jumbled up data which is unintelligible. The phones have two modes; normal operating mode and encryption mode. Operation Venetic was described by the NCA as “the biggest and most significant operation of its kind in the UK”. The NCA got into the system and read the messages.

EncroChat unlocked: Gangland Untouchables exposed as police read secret texts of assassins and drug smugglers.

British and European Law enforcement agencies gained critical access to crypto-communications among organized crime groups, and significant insight into the manoeuvres and actions of various suspects involved, including many ‘Gangland Untouchables’ who “thought they would never be caught,”. It has dealt a major blow to organized crime groups in the UK and led to seizures on a significant scale, with one cash seizure being the largest since Scotland Yard was founded in 1829.