Security News

Police operation 'SpecTor' arrests 288 dark web drug vendors and buyers
2023-05-02 14:40

An international law enforcement operation codenamed 'SpecTor' has arrested 288 dark web vendors and customers worldwide, with police seizing €50.8 million in cash and cryptocurrency. "The vendors arrested as a result of the police action against Monopoly Market were also active on other illicit marketplaces, further impeding the trade of drugs and illicit goods on the dark web."

Australian police arrest four BEC actors who stole $1.7 million
2023-03-24 19:49

The Australian Federal Police has arrested four members of a cybercriminal syndicate that has laundered $1.7 million stolen from at least 15 victims between January 2020 and March 2023. Eventually, two men and two women aged between 26 and 35 were arrested in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Adelaide.

Feds arrest and charge exiled Chinese billionaire over massive crypto fraud
2023-03-17 02:59

Meet the newest member of the crypto rogues' gallery: Ho Wan Kwok, aka Guo Wengui, aka Miles Guo, whom the US Department of Justice on Wednesday arrested over what investigators have described as a "Sprawling and complex scheme to solicit investments in various entities and programs through false statements and representations to hundreds of thousands of Kwok's online followers." One of Guo's operations was called Himalaya Exchange.

Police seize Netwire RAT malware infrastructure, arrest admin
2023-03-09 23:24

An international law enforcement operation involving the FBI and police agencies worldwide led to the arrest of the suspected administrator of the NetWire remote access trojan and the seizure of the service's web domain and hosting server. Since at least 2014, NetWire has been a tool of choice in various malicious activities, including phishing attacks, BEC campaigns, and to breach corporate networks.

Dutch police arrest three cyberextortion suspects who allegedly earned millions
2023-02-27 19:33

Dutch police announced late last week that they'd arrested three young men, aged between 18 and 21, suspected of cybercrimes involving breaking in, stealing data, and then demanding hush money. Late last year, for example, we wrote about a trick that the Dutch police used for some time against the DEADBOLT ransomware gang, who scramble unpatched QNAP network storage devices over the internet, and demand payment in Bitcoins to decrypt the ruined files.

Dutch Police Arrest 3 Hackers Involved in Massive Data Theft and Extortion Scheme
2023-02-27 07:12

The Dutch police announced the arrest of three individuals in connection with a "Large-scale" criminal operation involving data theft, extortion, and money laundering. The Politie said its cybercrime team started the investigation nearly two years ago, in March 2021, after a large Dutch company suffered a security breach.

Dutch Police arrest three ransomware actors extorting €2.5 million
2023-02-24 08:32

The Amsterdam cybercrime police team has arrested three men for ransomware activity that generated €2.5 million from extorting small and large organizations in multiple countries. The extortion involved threats of leaking the data or destroying the company's digital infrastructure.

Eurocops shut down Exclu encrypted messaging app, arrest dozens
2023-02-07 07:30

An encrypted messaging service that has been on law enforcement's radar since a 2019 raid on an old NATO bunker has been shut down after a sweeping series of raids across Europe last week. In a search of 79 properties in German, The Netherlands, Belgium and Poland last Friday, Authorities in those four countries arrested 48 people who were users, operators and administrators of the Exclu crypto communications service.

UK arrests five for selling 'dodgy' point of sale software
2022-12-12 02:58

Tax authorities from Australia, Canada, France, the UK and the USA have conducted a joint probe into "Electronic sales suppression software" - applications that falsify point of sale data to help merchants avoid paying tax on their true revenue. A Friday announcement [PDF] from the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, states that the probe "Resulted in the arrest of five individuals in the United Kingdom who allegedly designed and sold electronic sales suppression systems internationally."

Australia arrests 'Pig Butchering' suspects for stealing $100 million
2022-12-09 18:17

The Australian Federal Police have arrested four suspected members of a financial investment scam syndicate estimated to have stolen $100 million from victims worldwide. AFP says the investment scam group manipulated legitimate electronic trading platforms in combination with "Pig butchering."