Dutch and Belgian authorities have raided 200 homes after supposedly cracking secure messaging firm SKY ECC’s ‘unbreakable’ encrypted communication software.

Belgian prosecutors would not comment on whether they had gained access to the network after carrying out one of the largest cybercrime-related raids since the EncroChat arrests in July last year.

Police were supposedly able to ‘infiltrate’ SKY ECC’s platform to gain access to hundreds of thousands of unbreakable messages. Police said they have shared the messages with a “large number” of overseas investigations services.

However, SKY ECC has denied these claims, stating that the network “remains secure” and has not been accessed.

In a statement released on March 8th, the company claimed that none of their authorised SKY ECC devices had been hacked, and stated that: “After thorough investigation, that all such allegations are false.”

The company said that a fake phishing application “falsely branded as SKY ECC” was created illegally and side-loaded onto unsecured devices, with the firm’s usual security features removed. The phones were then sold “through unauthorised channels”.

The company said: “SKY ECC has not been contacted by any investigative authority. SKY ECC did not authorise or cooperate with the investigative authorities or those involved with the distribution of the fake phishing application.

“These actions are malicious and SKY ECC is actively investigating and pursuing legal action against the offending individuals for impersonation, false lights, trademark infringement, injurious falsehood, defamation, and fraud.”

According to Dutch broadcaster HLN, around 1,600 Belgian police officers raided homes between 5 am and 11 am, arresting 48 suspects, including three lawyers using SKY ECC cryptophones.

The gains from the raids included €1.2 million in cash, along with diamonds and jewellery, eight luxury vehicles, 14 weapons, three cash machines and police uniforms.

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SKY ECC’s predicament echoes the raids carried out last year when police forces from across Europe worked with the National Crime Agency (NCA) on Operation Venetic – one of the largest and most significant operations undertaken in the UK, to take down the EncroChat network.

The target was a major crime syndicate that used the encrypted network to move drugs and guns. A number of suspected drug ‘kingpins’ were arrested in the raids; suspects that were previously seen as ‘untouchable’, evading police for decades.

EncroChat’s hack led to 746 arrests in total and the seizing of £54 million, as well as more than two tonnes of drugs and several dozen firearms.

SKY ECC has denied allegations that it is the “platform of choice for criminals” after the takedown of EncroChat, where many criminals are said to have flooded. The company says it has a “strict zero-tolerance policy” to stop criminal activity on its platforms.

Company CEO, Jean-François Eap, commented: “SKY ECC believes that the individual right to privacy is paramount for anyone acting within the law.

“The platform exists for the prevention of identity theft and hacking, the protection of personal privacy rights, and the secure operation of legitimate personal and business affairs.”

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