The US Department of Justice has indicted the CEO of encrypted messaging company Sky Global, and an associate for allegedly aiding criminal enterprises avoid detection by law enforcement.Earlier this week, Europol announced that law enforcement in Belgium and the Netherlands made arrests after monitoring the Sky ECC encrypted chat platform for illegal activity.

Ten people belonging to a criminal network have been arrested in connection with a series of SIM-swapping attacks that resulted in the theft of more than $100 million by hijacking the mobile phone accounts of high-profile individuals in the U.S. The Europol-coordinated year-long investigation was jointly conducted by law enforcement authorities from the U.K., U.S., Belgium, Malta, and Canada.

This week Europol launched an innovative decryption platform, developed in close cooperation with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.The new Europol Decryption Platform, funded by the European Commission, will allow us to further enhance our support for Member State investigations.

The five pillars of the presentations concerned data retention methods, email address-based tracking, data protection considerations, global access to criminal evidence, and predictive policing.

Speaking to Reuters, Europol director Catherine De Bolle said the ability to carry out surveillance via current 4G networks was "one of the most important investigative tools that police officers and services have".

European Union officials have begun talks with counterparts in several Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt and Turkey, about proposed data-sharing deals that would allow Europol to exchange personal information about suspects with local law enforcement authorities.