FOX-IT, a digital security company, has published its report on the controversial smartphone application called ByLock. Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı or MİT in Turkish) has investigated the relation of a publicly available smart phone messaging application called ByLock to “FETÖ/PDY”, which is alleged to have been used during the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
The MİT is reported to have identified 215,092 users of the ByLock. Of which approximately 75,000 were detained. In an attempt to link a user of ByLock to a real person, the MİT has written a report on its findings which concluded that “ByLock has been offered to the exclusive use of the ‘FTÖ/PDY’ members”.
However, the investigation performed by Fox-IT contradicts the key findings of the MİT. Fox-IT also discovered inconsistencies in the MİT report that indicated manipulation of results and/or screenshots by MİT. What is more, Fox-IT found that the MİT investigation is fundamentally flawed due to the contradictory and baseless findings, lack of objectivity and lack of transparency.
Overall, Fox-IT concluded that the quality of the MİT report is very low, especially when it was weighed against the legal consequences of the conclusions which is the detention of 75,000 Turkish citizens.
Read the full report.
