In Brief:
- The Ukrainian police arrested two members of the ransomware gang with the help of Interpol and Europol.
- The criminals would deploy malware and steal sensitive data from these companies, before encrypting their files.
- They demanded ransoms of up to EUR 70 million in return for the decryption key.
In a joint effort involving international law enforcement agencies, the Ukrainian police arrested two members of the prolific ransomware gang.
French National Gendarmerie, Ukrainian National Police, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, International Criminal Police Organization, and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement all participated in the joint investigation leading to the arrest on Sept. 28.
In a statement today, Interpol did not name the ransomware group, but it is suspected of several targeted attacks in Europe and North America in 2020.
In addition to deploying malware to attack victims, the gang would encrypt their files before stealing their sensitive data. A ransomware payment of several million dollars was usually agreed to get the decryption key, and the gang threatened to give up the data if the demands were not met.
According to Ukrainian Police, as a result of an action
- 2 arrests and 7 property searches
- Seizure of US$ 375 000 in cash
- Seizure of two luxury vehicles worth €217 000
- Asset freezing of $1.3 million in cryptocurrencies
INTERPOL’s High-Level Forum on Ransomware in July stressed the importance of adopting the same international collaboration used to fight terrorism, human trafficking, and mafia group organizations like the ‘Ndrangheta.
To stop these criminal activities and ransomware attacks, the US is taking major steps. Recently, the Biden admin summoned 30 Countries to fight against Ransomware. It announced the proclamation of October 2021 as a Cybersecurity month to raise awareness about various cyber threats and to create awareness regarding the use of sensitive data safely.
