On Monday, the U.N. revealed in a report that the messaging app Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, has been identified as a major platform for criminal activities.
What Happened: The report by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC disclosed that Telegram is being exploited by criminal networks in Southeast Asia for large-scale illicit activities, reported Reuters.
The app is allegedly being used for trading hacked data, including credit card details and passwords, and selling tools for cybercrime, such as deepfake software and data-stealing malware.
The report also pointed out the existence of unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges on the platform, offering money laundering services.
The UNODC report suggests that Southeast Asia has become a significant hub for a multibillion-dollar industry that targets victims worldwide with fraudulent schemes, generating between $27.4 billion to $36.5 billion annually.
Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in Paris in August and charged with allowing criminal activity on the platform.
Despite his arrest, Durov, who is currently out on bail, stated that the app would cooperate with legal requests from authorities and remove features abused for illegal activities.
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Why It Matters: Telegram’s privacy policies have been a subject of controversy for a while now.
Despite Durov’s assertion that little has changed in the app’s privacy policies, the platform has been under scrutiny for its role in facilitating criminal activities.
Following Durov’s arrest, Telegram has complied with multiple U.S. law enforcement data requests.
Despite these measures, the UNODC warns that the app remains an easily navigable environment for criminals, putting consumer data at a higher risk of being used in scams or other criminal activities, the report noted.
Telegram, with over 900 million users, reported a loss of $108 million against a revenue of $342 million in the last fiscal year.
Durov was said to be considering an Initial Public Offering for the platform, aiming for a valuation of $30 billion.
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