At least four people have been detained in Armenia and Ukraine. more than 100 servers have been dismantled in several countries, in an operation coordinated by Europol and Eurojust that dealt a major blow to global cybercrime.

As reported this Thursday by both European coordinating agencies based in The Hague, the operation has been achieved. dismantle numerous droppers (Trojans used to install malware on a computer), including such well-known ones as IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader and Bumblebee, which also led to the closure of more than 100 servers around the world.

The operation was called “Operation Final”. It took place from May 27 to 29. and all actions were aimed at disrupting criminal activity by “detaining highly valuable objects, dismantling criminal infrastructure and freezing illegal proceeds.”

“This approach has had a global impact on the dripper ecosystem. “Malware” (malicious program), the infrastructure of which was dismantled during the days of the actioncontributed to attacks using “ransomware” (cyber ransomware) and other malware,” explained Europol, emphasizing that this is “the largest operation against botnets (computer robots used for fraud around the world), which play an important role in the deployment of ransomware.”

Computer robots used for fraud have great capabilities to coordinate a large number of infected devices and carry out large-scale attacks.

In addition to those detained, one person in Armenia and three more in Ukraine, there are also eight more fugitives are linked to this criminal activitywanted by Germany, who will be added to Europe’s most wanted list today “for involvement in serious cybercriminal activity.”

France, Germany and the Netherlands initiated and led this operation.and Denmark, the UK and the USA took part. In addition, Armenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine supported the operation with arrests, interrogations of suspects, searches and seizures, or dismantling of servers and domains.

General, 16 registrations completed: one in Armenia, another in the Netherlands, three in Portugal and 11 in Ukraine. More than 2,000 domains were transferred to the control of European authorities.

“One of the main suspects earned at least 69 million euros in cryptocurrencies renting criminal infrastructure facilities to host ransomware. The suspect’s transactions are constantly monitored and legal permission has already been obtained to seize these assets in future actions,” Europol said.

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In this regard, the agency warns that “Operation Finale” “does not end today” since new actions are planned and there will be contacts with suspects who have not been arrested.

(EFE)