This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to Eurojust.

“Thanks to a coordinated action supported by Eurojust and Europol, judicial and law enforcement authorities of 10 different countries have dealt a major blow to LockBit, the world’s most active ransomware-as-a-service cybercrime group. Two members of the ransomware group were arrested in Poland and Ukraine, the message said.

It is also stated that law enforcement has compromised LockBit’s core platform and other supporting infrastructure. This includes shutting down 34 servers in the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, France, Switzerland, Australia, the US and the UK.

LockBit first appeared in late 2019, initially calling itself the “ABCD” ransomware. Since then, it has evolved rapidly and by 2022, it has become the most common type of ransomware in the world.

LockBit attacks are believed to have affected more than 2,500 victims worldwide.

The core team creates the malware and manages the website, while licensing its code to affiliates that launch the attacks.

The joint action allowed various police forces to take control of much of the infrastructure that powered the LockBit ransomware; this includes the dark web and, in particular, the Wall of Shame, which is used to publish data on victims who refuse. Pay the ransom.

More than 200 cryptocurrency accounts linked to the criminal organization were also frozen.

This international operation is the result of an extensive investigation by the UK National Crime Agency. With support from Eurojust and Europol, law enforcement in nine other countries, including authorities in France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and Japan, worked closely with the National Crime Agency on the case.

The case was filed at Eurojust in April 2022 at the request of the French authorities. The Agency held five coordination meetings to improve judicial cooperation and prepare for joint actions.

Europol’s European Cyber ​​Crime Center (EC3) held 27 operational meetings and four one-week technical sprints to develop versions of the investigation to prepare for the final phase of the investigation. Europol also provided analytical, cryptographic and forensic support. In addition, three Europol experts were assigned to the command center in London during the action phase.

Japanese police, the National Crime Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, supported by Europol, have combined their technical expertise to develop decryption tools designed to recover files encrypted by LockBit ransomware. These solutions were available for free on the No More Ransom portal, which is available in 37 languages. So far, more than 6 million victims worldwide have used No More Ransom, which includes more than 120 solutions capable of decrypting more than 150 different types of ransomware.

According to Ukrinform, three people were detained in the Netherlands on suspicion of violating the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Eurojust and Europol supported coordinated actions by the authorities of the Netherlands, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Canada against alleged violations of export sanctions against Russia. In joint actions, 3 suspects were detained and 14 places were searched within the scope of the investigation into the illegal export of technological and laboratory materials that can be used for military purposes.