According to Ukrinform, this situation was reported by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Under the leadership of prosecutors of the General Prosecutor’s Office, investigators of the Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine, cyber experts of the Security Service of Ukraine, in accordance with international legal instructions of the competent authorities of the French Republic, stopped the investigation. operation of a transnational criminal hacker group. LockBit specialized in distributing ransomware virus.

It was noted that this international cyber operation was carried out in cooperation with the competent authorities of the Republic of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the USA, Switzerland, Finland and Poland. , New Zealand and Europol.

“It has been determined that the LockBit hacker group has carried out more than 3,000 cyber attacks on the infrastructures of various companies in Europe and the USA since 2019. The message states that it is considered the most “authoritative” hacker group among blackmailers in the world.

Law enforcement forces, on the basis of a coordinated joint action plan on the territory of Ukraine, carried out a series of searches in the homes of persons engaged in illegal activities. The mobile phones and computer equipment they used were found.

Thanks to high-quality training and effectively established cooperation with international partners, all planned investigative actions were carried out, confirming the involvement of each of the participants.

As a result of operational measures, the main platform was compromised, making it impossible for this hacker group to commit further crimes. 34 servers in the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, France, Switzerland, Australia, the US and the UK were shut down and more than 200 cryptocurrency accounts linked to criminal activity were blocked.

Additionally, a large amount of data collected during the investigation was revealed, which was at the disposal of law enforcement agencies in various states and would be used to identify LockBit’s organizers and key participants, developers, subsidiaries, infrastructure and related criminal entities. to its activities.

As reported by Ukrinform, the US Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions against two Russians who participated in the hacking activities of the LockBit group, which is engaged in blocking critical networks abroad and demands money for the restoration of work.

Photo: Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office