[Back to the takedown index](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns) # Sky ECC interception and action day February 2021, Criminal communications Led by [Belgian Federal Police](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/belgian-federal-police), [Politie (Netherlands National Police)](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/politie-netherlands-national-police) Verified core entry, last reviewed August 21, 2026 What was taken down? Encrypted traffic decrypted and monitored; infrastructure disrupted; large-scale searches and seizures on the action day.[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2) [See what happened](#what-happened) What happened to the people? Officials reported 48 apprehended. Group accounted for: Not applicable [See people and accountability](#people) Did it stay down? Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry. [See what happened afterward](#afterward) ## What happened Belgian, Dutch, and French authorities monitored Sky ECC communications and executed a coordinated action day, unlocking roughly a billion messages from approximately 70,000 users.[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2) Announced March 10, 2021. **Date:** February 1 to March 9, 2021 **Target:** Sky ECC, encrypted communications network **Activity:** Criminal communications, Trafficking and exploitation **Operational lead:** Belgian Federal Police and Dutch National Police **Partners** Europol, Belgian Federal Prosecutor[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2) - [European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/european-union-agency-for-law-enforcement-cooperation), coordinator - [Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of Belgium](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/federal-public-prosecutor-s-office-of-belgium), prosecuting **Jurisdiction:** Belgium, Netherlands, France, United States, and European Union **Outcome:** Encrypted traffic decrypted and monitored; infrastructure disrupted; large-scale searches and seizures on the action day. **Status:** Completed **Legal mechanism:** Belgian and Dutch judicial authorization; French cooperation; Europol and Eurojust coordination **Group accounted for:** Not applicable ### Infrastructure 70,000 user accounts searched. Command and control servers taken over, with no count in the record. | Identifier | Recorded as | Status | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Not published | Command and control server | Taken over | Encrypted traffic decrypted and monitored by Belgian and Dutch authorities.[[2]](#source-2) | | Not published | approximately 70,000 user accounts | Searched | Approximately 70,000 users, with roughly one billion messages unlocked.[[2]](#source-2) | Domains and onion addresses are shown defanged. Where the record gives a count but no identifier, the count is shown in place of one. This list carries only what appears in the cited sources. ## People and accountability No individual is named against this entry in the cited record. That is a gap in what has been published rather than a finding that nobody was involved. Group accounted for: Not applicable The target was a communications platform used by many unrelated criminal groups rather than a finite operator group. Not applicable for the same reasons as EncroChat. [See the organizations and roles behind this action](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/sky-ecc-interception-and-action-day/organizations) ## What happened afterward Extensive Belgian and Dutch prosecutions. Sky Global publicly disputed the characterization of the company.[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2) Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry. Return class F. The class is a research grading carried in the source dataset and its scale is not published, so this page relies on the relationship and confidence values instead. [How this index handles it](https://takedownindex.org/about). ## Sources Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them. ### Official sources 1. [Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office statement on the Sky ECC action day](https://takedownindex.org/sources/federal-public-prosecutor-s-office-of-belgium-belgian-federal-prosecutor-s-offic) Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of Belgium, March 9, 2021, Source grade P1 Belgian searches, arrests, and judicial authorization No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher. 2. [New major interventions to block encrypted communications of criminal networks](https://takedownindex.org/sources/europol-new-major-interventions-to-block-encrypted-communications-of-criminal-ne) Europol, March 10, 2021, Source grade P2 Sky ECC monitoring, user and message scale, Belgian action day No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher. Coverage note. - Reported 48 arrests on the Belgian action day and approximately 200 premises searched. - A separate US indictment against Sky Global's chief executive is a distinct legal action and is not merged into this infrastructure record. - Admissibility of Sky ECC evidence has been litigated with mixed outcomes. Research context ## How this entry was checked This entry went through a dedicated source verification pass. Publisher, title, publication date, and docket numbers were confirmed against each cited source. Source review: Verified core Sources cited: 2 Research cutoff: August 20, 2026 Last reviewed August 21, 2026 See also [About the Internet Takedown Index](https://takedownindex.org/about) Related entries - [Operation Ladybird](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-ladybird) - [DoubleVPN takedown](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/doublevpn-takedown) - [EncroChat interception and shutdown](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/encrochat-interception-and-shutdown) Report updates or corrections Help keep this record accurate. [Submit feedback](https://takedownindex.org/about#corrections-and-updates)