Security News > 2021 > October > Cybercrime: Europol arrests 12 people for ransomware activities possibly affecting 1,800 victims in 71 countries
The European police force stated the ransomware activities targeted critical infrastructures and mostly large corporations.
Europol, the European police agency, announced today the arrests of 12 people involved in ransomware activities across the world.
The alleged cybercriminals are believed to have affected over 1,800 victims in 71 countries according to Europol's press release; those victims are mostly large corporations and critical infrastructures.
Ransomware fraud needs cybercriminals to have different roles, as ransomware groups are highly organized criminal organizations.
The 12 people involved indeed showed various capabilities: penetration testing skills for compromising the targeted corporations via brute-force attacks, SQL injections, launching phishing email campaigns and stealing credentials to further compromise systems.
SEE: Ransomware attack: Why a small business paid the $150,000 ransom.