Following the massive botnet takedown codenamed Operation Endgame in May 2024, which shut down the biggest malware droppers, including IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader and Bumblebee, law enforcement agencies across North America and Europe dealt another blow to the malware ecosystem in early 2025.
In a coordinated series of actions, customers of the Smokeloader pay-per-install botnet, operated by the actor known as ‘Superstar’, faced consequences such as arrests, house searches, arrest warrants or ‘knock and talks’. Superstar used his botnet to run a pay-per-install service, enabling customers to gain access to victims’ machines. Customers used the service to deploy malware for their own criminal activities. Investigations revealed that botnet access was purchased for a range of purposes, including keylogging, webcam access, ransomware deployment, cryptomining and more.
Read more…
Source: Europol
Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.
Related:
- No confirmation on rumored ALPHV/BlackCat site takedown by law enforcement
December 11, 2023
As the week started there was still no official confirmation from law enforcement that the notorious ALPV/BlackCat site had been taken down. Late last week, various research groups and news organizations reported, and RedSense on Dec. 8 confirmed, that law enforcement took down the ransomware group’s site, but short of official confirmation from the FBI or ...
- INTERPOL operation reveals further insights into ‘globalization’ of cyber scam centres
December 8, 2023
LYON, France – The first INTERPOL operation specifically targeting the phenomenon of human trafficking-fuelled fraud has revealed further evidence that the crime trend is expanding beyond Southeast Asia. Following five months of investigative coordination, law enforcement from participating countries carried out more than 270,000 inspections and police checks at 450 human trafficking and migrant smuggling hotspots ...
- Binance CEO pleads guilty to money laundering charges
November 21, 2023
The Binance chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, has resigned after pleading guilty to money laundering violations. The Justice Department said it was requiring Binance, the largest crypto-exchange in the world, to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) in penalties and forfeitures. It said Binance had helped users bypass sanctions across the world. Read more… Source: BBC News
- Europol and Eurojust support Czech and Ukrainian police in taking down multi-million euro voice phishing gang
November 16, 2023
The Czech and Ukrainian police have disrupted, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, a prolific phishing gang believed to have defrauded victims across Europe of tens of millions of euros. In Czechia alone, the damage caused by this criminal group is estimated at over EUR 8 million (CZK 195 000 000). As a result of ...
- US sanctions Russian accused of laundering Ryuk ransomware funds
November 6, 2023
The U.S. government has sanctioned a Russian national for allegedly laundering millions of dollars’ worth of victim ransom payments on behalf of individuals linked to the notorious Ryuk ransomware group. According to an announcement from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Ekaterina Zhdanova, 37, is accused of using virtual currency exchange transfers and ...
- Do government sanctions against ransomware groups work?
November 2, 2023
Earlier this year, the U.S. government imposed sanctions against Russian national Mikhail Matveev, an FBI most-wanted cybercriminal, who authorities accuse of being a “prolific ransomware affiliate” involved in cyberattacks in the United States and overseas. Authorities say Matveev played a major role in the development and deployment of the Hive, LockBit and Babuk ransomware variants, ...