Four individuals were arrested and over 100 internet servers were disconnected or blocked in a coordinated international operation aimed at cyber infrastructure used for malicious programs.
This was reported by Europol.
The action, named Operation Endgame, was initiated and carried out by France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Additionally, Armenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, and Ukraine also supported the operation through various actions, including arrests, interrogations of suspects, searches, as well as seizure or removal of servers and domains.
The coordinated actions led to:
- 4 arrests (1 in Armenia and 3 in Ukraine)
- 16 location searches (1 in Armenia, 1 in the Netherlands, 3 in Portugal and 11 in Ukraine)
- Over 100 servers taken down or disrupted in Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Ukraine
- Over 2 000 domains under the control of law enforcement
As a result of the days of action against individuals involved in this criminal activity and sought by Germany, on May 30, 2024, they will be added to the European list of most wanted persons. These individuals are wanted for their involvement in serious cybercriminal activity.
"By conducting the largest international cyber policing operation to date, law enforcement agencies have dealt a serious blow to the sphere of cybercrime," said Martina Link, Vice President of the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany.
Malicious software allows cybercriminals to secretly access people's computers for malicious purposes.
According to investigators, one of the main suspects earned at least 69 million euros in cryptocurrency by leasing criminal infrastructure facilities for hosting ransomware programs. The suspect's operations are constantly monitored, and legal authorization has already been obtained to confiscate these assets during future actions.
