AN0M raids reveal gaping hole in security at Australia’s ports
THE AN0M RAIDS REVEAL A GAPING HOLE IN SECURITY AT AUSTRALIA’S PORTS, EXPERTS SAY
By Gavin Coote and David Sparks, ABC The World Today
Cyber security expert Professor Richard Buckland from the University of New South Wales said the technology behind the ANOM app didn't appear to be very advanced.
He said the real act of genius was tricking criminals into using it.
The technology of encrypted messaging is widely used today, including on apps like WhatsApp and Gmail.
Professor Buckland said most of these standard, widely used encryption programs today are almost impossible to crack.
One of the big questions asked after last week's crime bust was, why didn't the authorities keep the AN0M app going, so they could keep catching them?
Professor Buckland said it's possible the police publicised the method, to scare criminals away from using encryption.
"In the [encryption] community, it's widely thought that this bust has been publicised to do precisely that: to make criminals wary of using cryptography, because the police, the intelligence agencies, no one likes it when people use encryption, because we can't read their messages," he said.
