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Dark Wire

The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever

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Dark Wire

By: Joseph Cox
Narrated by: Peter Ganim
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About this listen

 The inside story of the largest law-enforcement sting operation ever, in which the FBI made its own tech start-up to wiretap the world, shows how cunning both the authorities and drug traffickers have become, with privacy implications for everyone.

In 2018, a powerful app for secure communications called Anom took root among organized criminals. They believed Anom allowed them to conduct business in the shadows. Except for one thing: it was secretly run by the FBI.

Backdoor access to Anom and a series of related investigations granted American, Australian, and European authorities a front-row seat to the underworld. Tens of thousands of criminals worldwide appeared in full view of the same agents they were trying to evade. International smugglers. Money launderers. Hitmen. A sprawling global economy as efficient and interconnected as the legal one. Officers watched drug shipments and murder plots unfold, making arrests without blowing their cover. But, as the FBI started to lose control of Anom, did the agency go too far?

A painstakingly investigated exposé, Dark Wire reveals the true scale and stakes of this unprecedented operation through the agents and crooks who were there. This fly-on-the-wall thriller is a caper for our modern world, where no one can be sure who is listening in. Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions Freedom & Security International Politics & Government Security & Encryption True Crime Crime

Critic Reviews

"Joseph Cox has written an instant true-crime classic, the inside—very inside it turns out—story of the largest global crime sting in history, a fascinating portrait not just of the frontiers of technology but also how organized crime operates in the 21st century. Filled with stranger-than-fiction gangsters and smugglers, this book is part-Miami Vice, part-Sneakers, and part-Ocean's Eleven. Your eyebrows will be raised in amazement page after page."—Garrett Graff, director of the Cybersecurity Program at The Aspen Institute, bestselling author of Watergate: A New History
"A jaw-dropping page turner that truly terrified me. The story of how the FBI subverted an encrypted messaging program should send chills down the spine of anyone who cares about privacy and a free society."—Julia Angwin, contributing writer at the New York Times and author of the bestselling book Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance
"A tense, deep, beautifully told tale that could be a top-notch technothriller... except it's all true."—Cory Doctorow, author of The Bezzle and The Internet Con
“Cox has pulled off a breathtaking feat of reporting. He brings readers into the very rooms where the criminal underworld’s most audacious conspiracies are planned and executed—and into the rooms where the cops are watching it all. His book is true to its namesake, The Wire, but more real, more raw, and played out at a staggeringly global scale.”—Andy Greenberg, WIRED senior writer and author of Tracers in the Dark and Sandworm
“One of the best true crime thrillers I’ve read in years. With its tremendously flawed and persistent characters and crazy plot, it felt instantly like a television show while also illuminating the way the shadowy underworld uses encrypted and special phones.”—Bradley Hope, co-author of BILLION DOLLAR WHALE and BLOOD AND OIL
All stars
Most relevant
A fascinating exploration of organised crime, technology, encryption and privacy. I could definitely recommend it.

Captivating and thought provoking

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What A Story !! If It Wasn't Real It's Would Be A Hell Of A Story Of Fiction !!

The Outstanding Groundwork Of The Author

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Didn’t like the narrator at all. I really struggled with his cadence, made it quite difficult to get through

Such a fascinating story, but….

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Now I understand better Durov's arrest. Details of this story are hilarious. My best read in 2024

Real story worth making a movie

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While true crime as a popular genre focuses on salacious and grim stories of serial killing, this book, built upon immense labour and appreciation of complexity, is a far better option for that style of story.

It is a better option because it isn't confined by that genre, and even as it fascinates and explains it draws the reader to look beyond the immediate story to its implications and causes.

An entertaining account of an underappreciated story

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The true story in detail, happy to see iyick busted along with his buddy's

How far police will go

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If you followed this when it occurred it’s very interesting to hear it all as a single narrative.

Very interesting story about Anom

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It was ok. The author seemsbto have a repeative writing style which is almost formulaic.

How many times does the reader need to be told the same thing about Anom?

Each time delivered by the voice actor as if it was a cheesy American accented advert. ..... *in an over the top smooth male American accent*. "..... only with Anom!"

A bit repetitive

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Nothing in this book that isn’t in the papers. The story was slow and timeline jumped all over the place. Was difficult to follow. I reduced the rating an additional star as the narrator made it even worse.

Scattered story line, different to follow

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You'd think Anom was just an FBI sting to get a mid-level guy in Sweden. It was so much more, in many more counties and bigger fish were caught

Disappointing

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