Taking down an international criminal ring isn’t easy. They often rely on sophisticated technology to thwart investigators. That same technology was used to take down hundreds of thousands of criminals. In this episode I speak with Tom Whalen, a former Special Agent with the FBI. For the first time, he is discussing Operation Trojan Shield and how the FBI, and other international agencies, used the criminal’s technology against them. It should be noted that Tom received permission to discuss this case.
In this episode you’ll discover:
- Who and what are transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)
- What technology were the criminals using
- How the FBI ended up in possession of the technology
- How it was used against the criminals
- Why it’s important to question the technology we use – who has access to what information
Resources:
Red5Security https://red5security.com/
Articles on Operation Trojan Shield
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BIO: Mr. Thomas D. Whalen
Thomas Whalen serves as a Director of Security Consulting at Red Five. He has more than 30 years of Law Enforcement, Intelligence and Military experience, possessing expertise in complex transnational investigations, intelligence collection and security operations. In his role as a Director, Mr. Whalen consults on and manages projects related to individuals, executives, family offices, and enterprise security concerns, cybersecurity needs, and threat mitigation solutions.
Before joining Red Five, Mr. Whalen served as a Supervisory Special Agent and Unit Chief with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) working Transnational Organized Crime, Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence threats globally. Additionally, he was detailed for several years to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) handling counterintelligence and Weapons of Mass Destruction threats and issues. Lastly, he has acquired significant experience working closely with law enforcement and intelligence agencies throughout the Pacific Rim, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
During his time with the FBI, Mr. Whalen also served as a Special Agent investigating transnational organized crime out of the San Diego Field Office, utilizing undercover and human intelligence operations, electronic and physical surveillance as well as other advanced techniques, he successfully executed global investigations, resulting in the identification, arrest, prosecution, and dismantlement of criminal organizations worldwide. Most recently, Mr. Whalen was a key architect and directly supervised all aspects of the FBI’s undercover investigation titled Operation Trojan Shield, which is easily one of the FBI’s largest and most successful international organized crime and drug investigations.
