AST April 2018 Magazine AST April Magazine (3.30.18) | Page 4

Volume 22
April 2018 Edition
Vincent Ramos, CEO of Canada-based Phantom Secure & four associates were indicted on charges they knowingly and intention-
ally participated in a criminal enterprise that facilitated the importation & distribution of narcotics through the sale & service of
encrypted communications to evade law enforcement and obstruct justice while committing transnational drug trafficking.
Phantom Secure Takedown: Selling
Unhackable Phones to Drug Cartels
Phantom Secure Helped Drug Traffickers,
Organized Crime Worldwide
International organized crime and drug traffick-
ing groups were dealt a blow by the takedown of
an encrypted communication service they used
to plan and commit their crimes, the FBI and its
international partners announced on Thursday,
March 15, 2018.
Canada-based Phantom Secure was a criminal en-
terprise that provided secure communications to
high-level drug traffickers and other criminal organi-
zation leaders.
The group purchased smartphones, removed all of the-
typical functionality—calling, texting, Internet, and GPS—
and installed an encrypted e-mail system, so the phones
could only communicate with each other.
If a customer was arrested, Phantom Secure
destroyed the data on that phone, which is ob-
struction of justice under U.S. law.
In an attempt to thwart law enforcement efforts,
the company required new customers to have a
reference from an existing user.
Given the limited functionality of the phones
and the fact that they only operate within a
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