Europol: 7 arrested in Cybercrime-as-a-Service takedown


An action day performed in Latvia on 10 October 2025 led to the arrest of five cybercriminals of Latvian nationality and the seizure of infrastructure used to enable crimes against thousands of victims across Europe.

During the operation codenamed ‘SIMCARTEL’, law enforcement arrested two further suspects, took down five servers and seized 1 200 SIM box devices alongside 40 000 active SIM cards. Investigators from Austria, Estonia and Latvia, together with their colleagues at Europol und Eurojust, were able to attribute to the criminal network more than 1 700 individual cyber fraud cases in Austria and 1 500 in Latvia, with a total loss of several million euros. The financial loss in Austria alone amounts to around EUR 4.5 million, as well as EUR 420 000 in Latvia.

Read more…
Source: Europol


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Dynowiper: Destructive Malware Targeting Poland’s Energy Sector

    February 6, 2026

    The coordinated destructive campaign against critical energy infrastructure occurred on December 29, 2025, during a period of severe winter weather in Poland. According to CERT Polska’s report, the campaign targeted: 30+ wind and solar farms across Poland; A major CHP plant supplying heat to nearly half a million customers; A manufacturing sector company characterized as an ...

  • Stan Ghouls targeting Russia and Uzbekistan with NetSupport RAT

    February 5, 2026

    Stan Ghouls (also known as Bloody Wolf) is an cybercriminal group that has been launching targeted attacks against organizations in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan since at least 2023. These attackers primarily have their sights set on the manufacturing, finance, and IT sectors. Their campaigns are meticulously prepared and tailored to specific victims, featuring a signature ...

  • Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit searches X office

    February 3, 2026

    French police raided the offices of Elon Musk’s social media network X on Tuesday and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April in a widening investigation, amid growing scrutiny of the platform by authorities across Europe. France’s raid and the summoning of Musk — which could further increase tensions between Europe and the ...

  • Polish authorities arrest 20-year-old man on suspicion of carrying out DDoS attacks

    February 3, 2026

    Polish authorities have cuffed a 20-year-old man on suspicion of carrying out DDoS attacks. The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime (CBZC) claims the unnamed individual was responsible for attacks on “numerous popular websites,” including those of strategic importance. Given the context, it can be reasonably assumed that strategically important websites likely refers to those providing essential ...

  • Northern Ireland: PSNI officers affected by data breach to receive £7,500

    February 3, 2026

    Almost 10,000 police officers and staff affected by a huge data breach in Northern Ireland are to get a payment of at least £7,500 each. The details of all the PSNI’s serving officers and civilian staff were inadvertently published as part of a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in August 2023. The database ...

  • Researchers say Russian government hackers were behind attempted Poland power outage

    January 23, 2026

    A failed December effort to bring down parts of Poland’s energy grid was the work of Russian government hackers known for causing past energy disruptions, according to a security research firm that investigated the incident. Last week, Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka told reporters that the attempted cyberattack on December 29 and 30 saw hackers targeting ...