Police Boast of Hacking VPN Where Criminals "Believed Themselves to Be Safe"
Authorities seized 33 servers and identified users after dismantling a VPN service that hid ransomware and data-theft activity, Europol said.
- France and the Netherlands, with Europol, dismantled 'First VPN' on May 19 and 20, disrupting infrastructure used by cybercriminals to conceal identities during ransomware attacks and data theft.
- The service had become 'deeply embedded in the cybercrime ecosystem,' appearing in most major investigations supported by Europol in recent years while being promoted on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums.
- Investigators identified 65 IP addresses and dismantled 33 servers across 27 countries, with authorities searching a house in Ukraine to interview the service's administrator.
- Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed the investigation, dubbed Operation Saffron and launched in 2021, resulted in the seizure of domains and identification of users relying on the service.
- Edvardas Šileris, Head of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre, said "VPNs are legal, but using them for illegal purposes will see law enforcement take action," reinforcing the operation's significance.
39 Articles
39 Articles
A VPN built for criminals just got shut down by Europol and Eurojust
Earlier this week, European authorities carried out a continent-wide operation targeting a crime-focused VPN service known as "First VPN." Europol said the illicit service had been promoted for years on Russian-language underground forums, where it was marketed as a "trusted" platform for cybercriminals seeking a safehaven for their malicious online...Read Entire Article
European authorities take down prolific cybercrime VPN service
European authorities took down a prominent virtual private network service and arrested the alleged administrator behind an operation that cybercriminals used to steal data, commit fraud and ransomware attacks, Europol said Thursday. First VPN, which was promoted on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums, gained popularity for providing services that allowed users to hide their infrastructure and identities. Officials said the service was entrenche…
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