"The FBI, working with Australia's Federal Police (AFP), created that alternative in the form of a service called "AN0M" that ran on modified smartphones and required users to pay subscription fees for a secure communications service. AN0M also included a backdoor that allowed authorities to access messages sent using the service. Crims didn't know about the backdoor and merrily used AN0M to discuss many evil deeds."
"In 2022, some AN0M users who faced criminal charges tried to challenge the legality of the scheme, which they argued amounted to unlawful interception of communications passing over a telecommunications network under Australian law. In early October, Australia's High Court found [PDF] AN0M was legal because it was a closed system, and messages sent with the app therefore didn't go across a telecoms network. The litigants can't appeal that decision because Australia's High Court is the nation's ultimate jurisdiction."
Law enforcement created and distributed a modified encrypted messaging service, AN0M, after Phantom Secure went offline. AN0M required subscriptions and contained a covert backdoor that allowed authorities to access user messages. Criminals used AN0M unaware of the backdoor and discussed illicit activities on the platform. Intelligence from AN0M fed into Operation Ironside and global arrests beginning in 2021. Users challenged the legality of the scheme under Australian interception laws; Australia's High Court ruled AN0M legal because it was a closed system and messages did not traverse a telecommunications network. South Australian police recently raided 23 properties, arrested 55 people, and restrained AUD$25.8 million in assets.
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