According to court documents obtained by TechCrunch, as part of an investigation into people involved in Catalonia's independence movement, Spanish police obtained information from encryption services Wire and Proton to help authorities identify activists using false names. It was said to be useful.
Earlier this year, the Spanish police Guardia Civil, through Swiss police, sent legal requests to Swiss-based companies Wire and Proton. Guardia Civil requested identifying information related to both companies' accounts on their respective platforms. Wire responded by providing the email address (Protonmail address) used to register the Wire account. According to the document, Proton responded by providing a recovery email for her Protonmail account. This was your iCloud email address.
In a request for investigation, Spanish police cited “organized crime'' and “terrorism,'' stating, “We want to find out who was responsible for the street riots that occurred in Catalonia in 2019.'' It is written.
After Guardia Civil obtained the iCloud email address, the documents show it requested information from Apple, which provided its full name, two home addresses, and a linked Gmail account.
TechCrunch has not disclosed the full name of the alleged activist. This is because it is unclear whether the person is actually behind these activities and whether he or she committed the crime.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Encrypted online services typically encrypt data using a key that only the user has, reducing the amount of user data that can be accessed and effectively preventing companies from handing over user data pursuant to a court order. The purpose is Instead, police obtain metadata from companies, such as identifiable information about users, including email addresses.
Spokespeople for Wire and Proton confirmed to TechCrunch that the company had received a legal request from Swiss police and had complied with the request.
“In response to a formal and legitimate request from the Swiss authorities, Wire has provided basic account information about its users. Wire cannot review or disclose the content of data transmitted through its services.” Wire spokesperson Hauke Gierow told TechCrunch via email.
Proton spokesperson Edward Shone told TechCrunch, “As evidenced by the fact that the data allegedly used to identify the terrorist suspect in this case was obtained from Apple, Proton uses minimal user information. “I own it,” he said.
“Proton does not require a recovery address, but in this case the terrorist suspect added one on his own. If the terrorist suspect wants to start the recovery process, he must be able to send email to that address. Because of this, this data cannot be encrypted,” a Proton spokesperson said in an email. “In theory, this information could be requested by the Swiss authorities in the event of a terrorist incident, and this decision is usually made by the Swiss Federal Office of Justice. Proton offers privacy by default, but anonymity by default. No, because anonymity requires appropriate user action. [operational security] This appears to have been done by the alleged terrorist suspect, including not adding an Apple account as an optional recovery method. ”
Neither the Guardia Civil nor the Spanish court where the case is being investigated responded to TechCrunch's requests for comment. A Swiss Federal Police spokesperson said: “We are not allowed to share any details regarding ongoing investigations or possible exchanges of information with our partners.”
The legal request, sent to Wire, Proton and Apple, alleges that Spanish authorities have suspected that pseudonymous members of the Catalan independence movement group Tsunami Detective were trying to prevent the group from planning any actions or demonstrations during the reign of King Felipe VI. It is related to an incident in which he believes he was assisting. I was planning to visit this area in 2020.
“Please explain what you want to do. Tell me if it's worth it or if we're going to waste our time like we did at Camp Nou,” one activist at Xuxu Rondinaire told another on Wire. said in chat. Court documents.
According to Spanish authorities, the Chouchou Rondinaire was a reference to the failed 2019 drone protest that was supposed to take place during a match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, whose stadium is known as the Camp Nou. It is said that
In these wire chats, Chouchou Rondinaire “explained in detail” several elements of potential security protocols for “public figures,” apparently referring to King Felipe VI, according to court documents.
Xuxu Rodinaire's case was previously reported by Spanish and Catalan media.
Catalan newspaper El Nacional reported on April 23 that Spanish authorities believe that Chouchou Rondinaire is an officer with Catalan police force Mossos d'Esquadra.
A Mossos d'Esquadra spokesperson told TechCrunch that they had no information about the incident and referred questions to the Guardia Civil and the relevant courts in Spain.
TechCrunch reached out to Xuxu Rondinaire via wire via his Protonmail and iCloud email addresses, but did not receive a response. We also contacted the mobile phone number Apple provided to Spanish police that is listed in court documents as being associated with the home address where Xuxu Rondinaire is said to live.
When TechCrunch reached out to that cell phone number and asked if the user was the person with the full name identified in court documents, the person said “no,” adding that they would report the message as spam.