Interpol is reporting a big win after a massive combined operation
against online criminals made 41 arrests and seized hardware thought to
be used for nefarious purposes.
Operation Synergia II – the follow up to the first Synergia raids that
were [1]announced in February – saw cops in 95 countries crack down on
phishers, ransomware extortionists, and information thieves around the
world. The operation was carried out in conjunction with the corporate
world, specifically Group-IB, Trend Micro, Kaspersky and Team Cymru.
In addition to the arrests, Interpol revealed 65 people are still under
investigation and claimed to have shuttered 22,000 IP addresses, taken
control of 59 servers and 43 other computing devices.
"The global nature of cyber crime requires a global response which is
evident by the support member countries provided to Operation Synergia
II," [2]declared Neal Jetton, head of Interpol's Cybercrime
Directorate.
"Together, we've not only dismantled malicious infrastructure but also
prevented hundreds of thousands of potential victims from falling prey
to cyber crime. Interpol is proud to bring together a diverse team of
member countries to fight this ever-evolving threat and make our world
a safer place."
* [3]Interpol's latest cybercrime intervention dismantles ransomware,
banking malware servers
* [4]4 cuffed following probe into holiday scheme for cybercrooks
* [5]China's gambling crackdown spawned wave of illegal online
casinos and crypto-crime in Asia
* [6]That call center tech scammer could be a human trafficking
victim
Operations cited include:
* China – In Hong Kong police identified and took offline 1,037
servers that were being used for criminal purposes;
* Macao – Another 291 servers were disconnected;
* Mongolia – After cops raided 21 houses they recovered a server and
found "93 individuals with links to illegal cyber activities."
* Madagascar – Police found 11 electronic devices and interviewed 11
people thought to be linked with online crime;
* Estonia – Law enforcement made a haul of 80GB of data that is being
analyzed for its links to banking malware and phishing.
The global reach of Interpol makes operations like this possible. The
largest law enforcement organization in the world, it has support from
196 nations – the only remaining holdouts are Western Sahara, North
Korea, the Pacific island of Kiribati, and Taiwan. That last would
[7]love to be a member, but has been excluded ever since China joined
in 1984. ®
References
1.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/02/interpols_latest_cybercrime_intervention_dismantles/
2.
https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2024/INTERPOL-cyber-operation-takes-down-22-000-malicious-IP-addresses
3.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/02/interpols_latest_cybercrime_intervention_dismantles/
4.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/05/four_arrested_in_scheme_to/
5.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/16/un_asia_tech_crime_report/
6.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/08/human_trafficking_for_cyber_scam/
7.
https://en.mofa.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=1575&s=34807
