Paying for a subscription turned protesters into defendants in a terrorism case.
A new incident has demonstrated that anonymous emails don't always protect against deanonymization. Court documents revealed that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to identify a person associated with the Stop Cop City protest movement in Atlanta using payment data from the Proton Mail email service .
The document describes how Proton Mail shared account payment data with Swiss authorities, and how the Swiss Ministry of Justice then forwarded the information to American investigators. The email address in question is defendtheatlantaforest@protonmail[.]com, which was used by participants in the Defend the Atlanta Forest (DTAF) campaign, which is linked to protests against the construction of a large police training center near Intrenchment Creek Park in Atlanta.
According to the case file, the FBI obtained information listing a specific individual as the source of payment for the specified email account. The document is dated January 25, 2024. The name of the payment recipient is known to investigators, but the media is not publishing it because court records do not contain information about the charges.
Investigators believe the postal address was used as the primary contact for the DTAF movement. The address was posted on the organization's Facebook page and also included in a blog post where they published messages about actions against the construction of the training center. The blog, for example, reported on the defacing of buildings with graffiti threatening contractors and the arson of one of the buildings.
The FBI suspects that the person who managed the email account had administrative access to the blog. American investigators obtained the email account information through the International Legal Assistance (ILA) mechanism. This procedure allows law enforcement agencies in one country to request information from agencies in another if a company stores data in a foreign jurisdiction.
Proton AG 's head of communications , Edward Schon, told the publication that Proton Mail did not directly share information with the FBI. According to a company spokesperson, the service only complies with legally binding orders from Swiss authorities and shares a limited set of data held by the company. The Swiss Ministry of Justice then decides independently whether to share the information with foreign agencies.
Sean explained that the service accepts payments in cryptocurrency , cash, and bank cards. When paying by card, the company sees a payment ID. This ID allows the issuing bank to identify the cardholder. A Proton AG representative added that the company reviews all incoming court orders and complies with them only after completing legal proceedings in Switzerland.
According to case records, DeKalb County police previously arrested the alleged owner of the email account for trespassing at one of the first DTAF protests in January 2022. Documents also show that investigators received information about the suspect's travel plans and planned to conduct a search at the Atlanta airport.
Previously, the Georgia Attorney General's Office charged 61 people connected to the Stop Cop City protests under RICO, a statute used against organized crime groups. In December, a judge dismissed all charges under this statute, but five defendants remain charged with domestic terrorism.
A similar incident occurred before. Proton Mail had already provided the authorities with a backup email address belonging to a person associated with the Democratic Tsunami movement , which advocates for Catalan independence.
A new incident has demonstrated that anonymous emails don't always protect against deanonymization. Court documents revealed that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to identify a person associated with the Stop Cop City protest movement in Atlanta using payment data from the Proton Mail email service .
The document describes how Proton Mail shared account payment data with Swiss authorities, and how the Swiss Ministry of Justice then forwarded the information to American investigators. The email address in question is defendtheatlantaforest@protonmail[.]com, which was used by participants in the Defend the Atlanta Forest (DTAF) campaign, which is linked to protests against the construction of a large police training center near Intrenchment Creek Park in Atlanta.
According to the case file, the FBI obtained information listing a specific individual as the source of payment for the specified email account. The document is dated January 25, 2024. The name of the payment recipient is known to investigators, but the media is not publishing it because court records do not contain information about the charges.
Investigators believe the postal address was used as the primary contact for the DTAF movement. The address was posted on the organization's Facebook page and also included in a blog post where they published messages about actions against the construction of the training center. The blog, for example, reported on the defacing of buildings with graffiti threatening contractors and the arson of one of the buildings.
The FBI suspects that the person who managed the email account had administrative access to the blog. American investigators obtained the email account information through the International Legal Assistance (ILA) mechanism. This procedure allows law enforcement agencies in one country to request information from agencies in another if a company stores data in a foreign jurisdiction.
Proton AG 's head of communications , Edward Schon, told the publication that Proton Mail did not directly share information with the FBI. According to a company spokesperson, the service only complies with legally binding orders from Swiss authorities and shares a limited set of data held by the company. The Swiss Ministry of Justice then decides independently whether to share the information with foreign agencies.
Sean explained that the service accepts payments in cryptocurrency , cash, and bank cards. When paying by card, the company sees a payment ID. This ID allows the issuing bank to identify the cardholder. A Proton AG representative added that the company reviews all incoming court orders and complies with them only after completing legal proceedings in Switzerland.
According to case records, DeKalb County police previously arrested the alleged owner of the email account for trespassing at one of the first DTAF protests in January 2022. Documents also show that investigators received information about the suspect's travel plans and planned to conduct a search at the Atlanta airport.
Previously, the Georgia Attorney General's Office charged 61 people connected to the Stop Cop City protests under RICO, a statute used against organized crime groups. In December, a judge dismissed all charges under this statute, but five defendants remain charged with domestic terrorism.
A similar incident occurred before. Proton Mail had already provided the authorities with a backup email address belonging to a person associated with the Democratic Tsunami movement , which advocates for Catalan independence.
