Company News

John Simek Featured in Forensic Magazine

April 4, 2018

Sensei’s John Simek was recently featured in “Virtual Case Notes: Company Knowingly Sold Encrypted ‘Phantom Phones’ to Criminals, FBI Says” by Laura French with Forensic Magazine.
Excerpt: “No matter what you use, encryption is a killer for investigators,” said John W. Simek, vice president of digital forensics, IT and cybersecurity firm Sensei Enterprises, with whom I discussed the case. “Encryption is good in that it protects the privacy of the user. That’s to say it also protects ‘bad guys’’ communication too.”

This has been seen in cases such as that of the San Bernardino shooter (although the FBI was ultimately able to crack the phone with help from an unnamed third party) and undoubtedly others that have left investigators with few options. But authorities said Phantom Secure was more than just another encryption service that fell into the wrong hands—it was specifically organized to help drug traffickers, those involved in organized crime and others seeking to evade law enforcement, they allege.

New customers were only allowed to purchase Phantom Secure’s services, and encrypted devices known as “Phantom phones,” after they had been vouched for by an existing customer, potentially to keep the true nature of the services known only to those who shared criminal intentions, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. New customers who had been verified communicated with company associates through anonymous usernames, including email handles such as “narco,” “Trigger-happy,” “knee_capper9,” “The.cartel” and “Elchapo66,” a DOJ announcement described.

The Phantom phones, which were modified Blackberry phones, were connected to encrypted networks in Hong Kong, Panama, and other foreign locations, were protected by multiple proxies and could only communicate with other Phantom phones on the network, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Additionally, Phantom phones could be remotely wiped upon request, potentially to delete evidence should police seize a phone after an arrest.

Looking at Phantom Secure’s website—which has been seized by authorities but can still be viewed through web archives—Simek said that on the surface its services didn’t seem dissimilar to other privacy services such as the Blackphone 2, and encrypted messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp. Comparing services like these to the iPhone, Simek noted both similarities and differences.