Encrypted Messaging App Exclu Used by Criminal Groups Cracked by Joint Law Enforcement

A
joint
law
enforcement
operation
conducted
by
Germany,
the
Netherlands,
and
Poland
has
cracked
yet
another
encrypted
messaging
application
named

Exclu
used
by
organized
crime
groups.

Eurojust,
in
a
press
statement,

said
the
February
3
exercise
resulted
in
the
arrests
of
45
individuals
across
Belgium
and
the
Netherlands,
some
of
whom
include
users
as
well
as
the
administrators
and
owners
of
the
service,

Authorities
also
launched
raids
in
79
locations,
leading
to
the
seizure
of
€5.5
million
in
cash,
300,000
ecstasy
tablets,
20
firearms,
and
200
phones.
Two
drug
laboratories
have
further
been
shut
down.

Investigation
into
Exlcu
is
said
to
have
commenced
in
Germany
as
far
back
as
June
2020.
The
application,
prior
to
its
takedown,
had
an
estimated
3,000
users,
of
which
750
are
Dutch
speakers.

The
Politie,
in
an
announcement
of
its
own,
noted
that
it
was
able
to
gain
covert
access
to
the
service,
permitting
the
agency
to
read
messages
sent
by
its
users
for
the
past
five
months.

“Exclu
makes
it
possible
to
exchange
messages,
photos,
notes,
voice
memos,
chat
conversations,
and
videos
with
other
users,”
the
Politie

said.
“Exclu
is
praised
by
its
owners
and
managers
for
its
high
level
of
security.”

Offered
for
€500
for
a
three-month
license
or
for
€900
for
a
six-month
license
key,
the
developers

advertise
Exclu
as
the
“most
sophisticated
communication
platform”
with
support
for
end-to-end
encryption
(E2EE).
Its

website
and

Instagram
account
are
still
operational
as
of
writing.

It
also
claims
to
have
“integrated
the
most
sophisticated
encryption
protocols
in
the
world
to
ensure
no
one
gets
access
to
your
data.”

“Users
of
‘Exclu’
are
to
be
attributed
to
organized
crime
and
in
particular
to
drug
trafficking,”
Germany’s
Federal
Police

said.
“The
operators
of
the
service
are
accused
of
having
supported
their
customers
in
committing
these
crimes
with
a
supposedly
secure
communication
channel.”

The
crackdown
on
Exclu
follows
the
successful
dismantling
of
similar
messaging
apps
like

EncroChat
and

Sky
ECC
in
2020
and
2021
for
their
use
as
a
haven
for
criminal
actors.

About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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