An investigation by 404 Media reveals that ICE and CBP officers are using Zello, a free consumer walkie-talkie app that was previously used to coordinate the January 6 insurrection, for official law enforcement operations. This is a massive operational security failure.
Let me be extremely clear about what's happening here: federal law enforcement agencies are running operations on an unencrypted consumer app that anyone can monitor with the right channel information. This includes communications during a shooting incident where a CBP officer shot a US citizen.
From a security perspective, this is insane. Zello is a consumer application designed for things like coordinating volunteer groups or staying in touch during disasters. It is explicitly not designed for law enforcement communications that need to be secure, encrypted, and auditable.
The government has secure communication systems. They exist. They're designed exactly for this purpose—encrypted, monitored, with proper access controls and audit logs. The fact that federal agents are instead using a free app that insurrectionists were comfortable using because it's hard to trace should terrify anyone concerned about government accountability.
Think about what this means operationally. Any operation discussed on Zello is potentially compromised. If targets know which channels to monitor, they can hear law enforcement coordinating in real-time. If oversight bodies want to review what was said during an incident, there may be no reliable record. If agents are abusing their authority, the communications are much harder to audit.
The 404 Media investigation found "multiple users of Zello linked to ICE officials," including officers at the scene of a shooting. This isn't one rogue agent using an unsecured app—it's systemic enough that investigators could identify multiple official uses.
What makes this particularly concerning is Zello's history. The platform was used to coordinate activities during the January 6 Capitol attack. It's known for hosting "hundreds of far-right channels." This is not exactly the kind of platform you'd expect federal law enforcement to choose for official communications.
