El Podcast

E100: How the FBI Built a Secret Tech Startup to Snare Criminals: w/ Joseph Co

Episode Summary

Award-winning investigative journalist Joseph Cox joins us to discuss his new book 'Dark Wire,' which delves into the FBI's largest sting operation, Anom. This operation, now being adapted into a Netflix film directed by Jason Bateman, involved creating a fake encrypted phone company to monitor global criminal enterprises. Cox explores the legal and ethical implications, the complexity of balancing privacy and law enforcement, and the operation's dramatic impact on organized crime and technology. Discover the chilling details behind this unprecedented law enforcement maneuver and the future of digital privacy.

Episode Notes

Investigative journalist Joseph Cox joins to discuss Dark Wire, his explosive new book revealing how the FBI secretly ran a global encrypted phone company to spy on the criminal underworld.

Guest Bio: Joseph Cox is an award-winning investigative journalist and co-founder of 404 Media. He specializes in cybercrime, surveillance, and hacking, and is the author of Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever, which is being adapted into a Netflix film directed by Jason Bateman.

Topics Covered:

• How the FBI created and operated the encrypted phone company Anom
• Global law enforcement collaboration with countries like Australia, Sweden, and Lithuania
• Legal and ethical concerns around bulk surveillance and entrapment
• Technical infrastructure and operational secrecy of the sting
• Impact on organized crime and the global drug trade
• Use of Bitcoin and hawala for money laundering
• AI’s growing role in law enforcement surveillance and data analysis
• Paranoia and fallout within the criminal underworld
• Future implications for privacy, encrypted apps like Signal and Telegram, and law enforcement tactics

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️ https://youtu.be/OLvf63ZSlwk