Pierluigi Paganini
October 04, 2021
A joint international law enforcement operation led to the arrest of the ransomware operators in Kyiv, Ukraine on September 28.
The operation was conducted by the Ukrainian National Police, with the support of Europol, the FBI, Interpol, and French Gendarmerie.
“On 28 September, a coordinated strike between the French National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), the Ukrainian National Police (Національна поліція України) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with the coordination of Europol and INTERPOL, has led to the arrest in Ukraine of two prolific ransomware operators known for their extortionate ransom demands (between €5 to €70 million).” reads the press release published by the Europol.
The police made 7 property searches and seized US$ 375 000 in cash, two luxury vehicles worth €217 000. The authorities also froze $1.3 million in cryptocurrencies.
According to the Ukraine police, one of the two individuals is a 25-year-old man that is suspected to be a prominent member of the cybercrime gang.
At the time of this writing, the law enforcement agencies did not reveal the name of the ransomware gang.
According to Ukraine officials, the two crooks were responsible for attacks on more than 100 companies across the world and have caused more than $150 million in damages.
“According to police, the man had an accomplice who helped to withdraw money obtained by criminal means.” reads the press release published by the Ukrainian police. “With the involvement of a special unit of the TOR of the patrol police, searches were conducted at the place of residence of the defendant and in the homes of his relatives. As a result, computer equipment, mobile phones, vehicles and more than 360 thousand dollars in cash were seized. In addition, $ 1.3 million was blocked on the attacker’s cryptocurrencies.”
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(SecurityAffairs – hacking, ransomware operators)
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