Europol
US seizes domain of Garantex crypto exchange used by ransomware gangs
The U.S. Secret Service has seized the domain of the sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the FBI, and Europol. Other law enforcement authorities involved in this action include the Dutch National Police, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the Frankfurt General Prosecutor’s Office, the Estonian National […]
Police arrests suspects tied to AI-generated CSAM distribution ring
Law enforcement agencies from 19 countries have arrested 25 suspects linked to a criminal ring that was distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) generated using artificial intelligence (AI). Operation Cumberland, coordinated by Danish law enforcement and supported by Europol, resulted in the seizure of 173 electronic devices and the identification of 273 suspected members tied […]
Police seizes Cracked and Nulled hacking forum servers, arrests suspects
Europol and German law enforcement confirmed the arrest of two suspects and the seizure of 17 servers in Operation Talent, which took down Cracked and Nulled, two of the largest hacking forums with over 10 million users. Even though some of their members are also engaged in ethical hacking discussions, these hacking forums are best […]
Massive live sports piracy ring with 812 million yearly visits taken offline
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has taken down one of the world’s largest live sports streaming piracy rings, with over 821 million visits last year. ACE says the Markkystreams Vietnam-based operation was the largest illegal sports streaming service it has shut down to date. The piracy ring primarily targeted audiences across the United States and Canada, streaming sports events […]
Operation PowerOFF shuts down 27 DDoS-for-hire platforms
Law enforcement agencies from 15 countries have taken 27 DDoS-for-hire services offline, also known as “booters” or “stressers,” arrested three administrators, and identified 300 customers of the platforms. The action is part of ‘Operation PowerOFF,’ an international initiative to combat cybercrime, specifically distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. DDoS-for-hire services are platforms that utilize botnets on compromised […]
Cybercrime gang arrested after turning Airbnbs into fraud centers
Eight members of an international cybercrime network that stole millions of Euros from victims and set up Airbnb fraud centers were arrested in Belgium and the Netherlands. The action was announced by Europol, which coordinated the operation, involving 17 simultaneous searches in the two countries, taking place on December 3. The arrests were the culmination of investigations […]
Police shuts down Manson cybercrime market, arrests key suspects
German law enforcement has seized over 50 servers that hosted the Manson Market cybercrime marketplace and fake online shops used in phishing operations. Two main suspects (currently in pretrial detention) believed to be Manson Market’s operators have been arrested in Germany and Austria under European arrest warrants on Wednesday in an operation led by the […]
Police seize Matrix encrypted chat service after spying on criminals
An international law enforcement operation codenamed ‘Operation Passionflower’ has shut down MATRIX, an encrypted messaging platform used by cybercriminals to coordinate illegal activities while evading police. It should be noted that MATRIX is a different entity from the secure open-source, decentralized, real-time communications protocol with the same name, which is perfectly legal to continue using. The […]