The Snips Journal - Weekly Newsletter - Issue #10
This week, we have for you: 3 Snips In Numbers and 1 Tiny Snip Sit back and feel those knowledge gains coming!💪💪💪
Snips In Numbers
SiN #89 – 82
That is the number of cars sold by the luxury supercar maker Bugatti in 2020 according to Bloomberg, which also says that its parent company Volkswagen AG is considering selling Bugatti to Croatian Electric Supercar Maker Rimac Automobili.
SiN #90 – 14.7%
That is the share of China in the Global Export Market in 2020 according to UNCTAD. It is followed by the US at 8.1%. Forty years ago, China’s share was less than 1% whereas USA held close to 10%!
SiN #91 – $605,008,000,000
That is the size of Foreign Exchange Reserves India has as of June 2021. It is just enough to cover less than 15 months imports. On the other hand, China has the world’s biggest ForEx reserves at $3.22 Trillion, which just covers 16 times its monthly imports!
Tiny Snips
TS #47 – A Messaging App from the FBI
With all the talk about how Google and Facebook and whatnot knowing your activity on or off the internet, one would think how do drug dealers and shady people get away with it? They actually use devices and services that are encrypted, making them particularly untraceable, unless, of course, the developer of the device/ service itself intends to spy on them!
Back in 2018, the FBI took down an encrypted messaging service provided by a called Phantom Secure. This was one of the widely used services by criminals to stay under the radar. Soon after that, users of Phantom Secure turned to other services. This led to FBI thinking of starting something similar on its own.
The F.B.I. recruited a former Phantom Secure distributor who had been developing a new encrypted communications system called Anom. The informant agreed to work for the F.B.I. and let the bureau control the network for the possibility of a reduced prison sentence, according to the court documents. The F.B.I. paid the informant $120,000, the documents said.
Once the product was developed, they wanted someone to promote it. Brands use influencers and celebrities. The FBI and Australian Police USED an underground drug Kingpin in Australia – Hakan Ayik, who was referred to in Australian media as “the Facebook gangster”. Ayik was given a handset by undercover cops which he then went on to circulate with his associates.
The operation, code named Operation Trojan Shield, had collected more than 27 million messages from about 12,000 devices in 45 languages, according to Associated Press.
8 tons of cocaine and 22 tons of cannabis
55 luxury vehicles
250 firearms
$48+ million worth of various currencies and cryptocurrencies!