Security News

Europol has announced the arrest of 108 people suspected of being involved in an international call center operation that tricked victims into investment scams. According to the Europol announcement, the crime group directed an army of 200 "Traders" who spoke English, Russian, Polish, and Hindi, calling prospective victims to present fake investment opportunities in cryptocurrency, commodities, and foreign currencies.

Law enforcement authorities from 10 countries took down VPNLab.net, a VPN service provider used by ransomware operators and malware actors. The law operatives seized 15 servers used by the VPNLab.net service and took down its main site, so the platform is no longer available.

VPNLab.net, a VPN provider that was used by malicious actors to deploy ransomware and facilitate other cybercrimes, was taken offline following a coordinated law enforcement operation. Europol said it took action against the misuse of the VPN service by grounding 15 of its servers on January 17 and rendering it inoperable as part of a disruptive action that took place across Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Latvia, Ukraine, the U.S., and the U.K. A second outcome of the seizure is that at least 100 businesses that have been identified as at risk of impending cyber attacks are being notified.

The European Data Protection Supervisor has ordered European Union law enforcement agency Europol to delete any data it has on individuals that's over six months old, provided there's no link to criminal activity. The investigation concluded the law enforcement agency needed to up its game when it came to data minimisation and retention and encouraged Europol to make necessary changes and then let the EDPS know of its action plan.

The European Union's data protection watchdog on Monday ordered Europol to delete a vast trove of personal data it obtained pertaining to individuals with no proven links to criminal activity. "Datasets older than six months that have not undergone this Data Subject Categorisation must be erased," the European Data Protection Supervisor said in a press statement.

The European Data Protection Supervisor, an EU privacy and data protection independent supervisory authority, has ordered Europol to erase personal data on individuals that haven't been linked to criminal activity. The decision follows an own-initiative inquiry started on April 30, 2019, regarding the EU police body's use of Big Data Analytics for personal data processing activities.

Europol has announced the arrest of 1,803 money mules out of 18,351 identified following an international money-laundering crackdown operation codenamed "EMMA 7.". O. Money mules are people who receive and transfer money on behalf of scammers and fraudsters, helping them launder the stolen amounts in exchange for a small cut.

Europol announced new arrests during its "Operation GoldDust." The suspects may have been heavily involved in the Sodinokibi/REvil and GandCrab ransomware activities. Europol announced today three arrests of individuals who may be involved in ransomware activities across the world.

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A total of 12 individuals wreaking havoc across the world with ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure have been targeted as the result of a law enforcement and judicial operation involving eight countries. As you probably know, a lot of ransomware gangs these days consist of what you might call a cybercrime "Ecosystem" or "Subculture", with the core coders surrounded by numerous affiliates or associates who take the malware out into the world and use it actively in attacks.