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  • Dark Wire

  • The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever
  • By: Joseph Cox
  • Narrated by: Peter Ganim
  • Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)

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Dark Wire

By: Joseph Cox
Narrated by: Peter Ganim
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Publisher's Summary

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Joseph Cox (P)2024 PublicAffairs

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

What listeners say about Dark Wire

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating and thought provoking

A fascinating exploration of organised crime, technology, encryption and privacy. I could definitely recommend it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An entertaining account of an underappreciated story

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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

How far police will go

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

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Such a fascinating story, but….

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Real story worth making a movie

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Outstanding Groundwork Of The Author

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting story about Anom

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

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A bit repetitive

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!"

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Scattered story line, different to follow

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.

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