Paris terror perpetrators used encryption apps: sources
Investigators looking into the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris said recently that cellular telephones found at the scenes of the attacks, and identified as belonging to the terrorists, were found to be equipped with communication programs enabling encryption of conversations. It is clear from the modus operandi of the terrorists that they were aware that the authorities could monitor their communications, and in order to elude them, the terrorists used a large number of cellular telephones, SIM cards and other means of communication. The use of encryption programs has become popular among terrorist organizations and it is now at the center of a conflict between high-tech companies, which are developing such programs and trying to make sure that their encryption cannot be broken, and the US government that demands that law enforcement authorities be given backdoor access. The publication of the leaks by Edward Snowden, according to which US intelligence organizations, mainly the NSA, systematically intercepted and recorded private and work-related telephone conversations inside and outside the US, as well as Internet traffic, is sharpening differences of opinion and increasing the use of encrypted instant messages by private citizens.
DEBKAfile's intelligence and technology-related sources report that ISIS widely uses an instant messaging program called "Telegram."The program was developed by Russia's Durov brothers who also developed VKontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook. The use of Telegram is very similar to that of Messenger, Whatsapp, Viber, Skype and other instant messaging. As far as it is known, it is not possible to "crack" the program in real time, so if an intelligence organization is 'listening' to an Internet conversation being conducted by Telegram, it will not be able to "peel off" the layer of encryption protecting the messages, regardless of whether they are text, audio or video, so it will not be able to monitor messages or data.
