Security News
Law enforcement arrested two operators of the LockBit ransomware gang in Poland and Ukraine, created a decryption tool to recover encrypted files for free, and seized over 200 crypto-wallets after hacking the cybercrime gang's servers in an international crackdown operation. The global LockBit crackdown was coordinated by Operation Cronos, a task force headed by the U.K. National Crime Agency and coordinated in Europe by Europol and Eurojust.
Law enforcement arrested two operators of the LockBit ransomware gang in Poland and Ukraine, created a decryption tool to recover encrypted files for free, and seized over 200 crypto-wallets after hacking the cybercrime gang's servers in an international crackdown operation. The global LockBit crackdown was coordinated by Operation Cronos, a task force headed by the U.K. National Crime Agency and coordinated in Europe by Europol and Eurojust.
"Law enforcement agencies from 11 countries have disrupted the notorious LockBit ransomware operation in a joint operation known as ''Operation Cronos.""We can confirm that Lockbit's services have been disrupted as a result of International Law Enforcement action - this is an ongoing and developing operation."
The police in Saxony, eastern Germany, have seized 50,000 Bitcoin from the former operator of the pirate site movie2k. As the police announced, one of the two suspects voluntarily transferred Bitcoin to the Federal Criminal Police Office.
Julius Aleksanteri Kivimäki, the suspect believed to be behind an attack against one of Finland's largest psychotherapy clinics, Vastaamo, was allegedly identified by tracing what has been believed to be untraceable Monero transactions. Finnish investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation, with the help of Binance, followed the trail of payments to Kivimäki, who exchanged the funds for Monero and then exchanged them back to Bitcoin.
The Federal Police of Brazil and cybersecurity researchers have disrupted the Grandoreiro banking malware operation, which has been targeting Spanish-speaking countries with financial fraud since 2017. The operation was supported by ESET, Interpol, the National Police in Spain, and Caixa Bank, all providing critical data leading to identifying and arresting individuals controlling the malware's infrastructure.
After 175 million failed password guesses, a judge rules that the Canadian police must return a suspect's phone. Judge] Carter said the investigation can continue without the phones, and he noted that Ottawa police have made a formal request to obtain more data from Google.
Supported by the National Police of Ukraine, Europol arrested a 29-year-old, whose identity is being withheld, this week in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. An unnamed cloud provider worked with Europol et al to bring the crook into custody - an effort that also saw three properties raided as authorities built up their portfolio of evidence against them.
About Bruce Schneier I am a public-interest technologist, working at the intersection of security, technology, and people. I've been writing about security issues on my blog since 2004, and in my monthly newsletter since 1998.
The Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany and the internet-crime combating unit of Frankfurt have announced the seizure of Kingdom Market, a dark web marketplace for drugs, cybercrime tools, and fake government IDs. The law enforcement operation also included authorities from the United States, Switzerland, Moldova, and Ukraine, while one of the administrators has been arrested in the US. Kingdom Market was an English-speaking marketplace on the dark web with international reach that has operated since March 2021.