Operation KillSwitch: Teenager suspected of leading KillSec ransomware group


On 30 September 2026, law enforcement took control of KillSec’s leak site, securing at least 110 terabytes of data against further unauthorised access. The cybercrime group used the site to threaten organisations with the publication of stolen files unless they paid a ransom.

The action was part of Operation KillSwitch, an international investigation led by German authorities into around 1 000 suspected attacks worldwide. Investigators identified a 16-year-old as the group’s suspected main operator. Three suspects were provisionally arrested and eight properties searched in Greece, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Authorities also targeted the group’s criminal proceeds.

KillSec stole sensitive data by exploiting vulnerabilities and poorly secured access points to organisations’ systems. Around 500 of the suspected attacks have so far been identified as successful. This figure may change as investigators examine the evidence seized during the operation.

Read more…
Source:  EUROPOL News


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


Related:

  • Thai-Swiss-US Operation Nets Hackers Behind 1,000+ Cyber Attacks

    February 10, 2025

    Thai police arrested four European hackers in Phuket who allegedly stole $16 million through ransomware attacks affecting over 1,000 victims worldwide. The suspects, wanted by Swiss and US authorities, were caught in coordinated raids across four locations. Officers from Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, led by Police Lieutenant General Trairong Phiwphan, conducted “Operation PHOBOS AETOR” in Phuket ...

  • U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

    February 7, 2025

    Security officials in the United Kingdom have demanded that Apple create a back door allowing them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. The British government’s undisclosed order, issued last month, requires blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not ...

  • Tackling cybercrime: common challenges and legislative solutions identified by Europol and Eurojust

    January 31, 2025

    Published today, the latest joint report by Europol and Eurojust, Common Challenges in Cybercrime, explores the persistent and emerging issues that hinder cybercrime investigations. This year’s edition not only identifies key obstacles—particularly in the field of digital evidence—but also examines how new legislative measures could help address them. The report highlights several pressing challenges faced by ...

  • Europol: Law enforcement takes down two largest cybercrime forums in the world

    January 30, 2025

    A Europol-supported operation, led by German authorities and involving law enforcement from eight countries, has led to the takedown of the two largest cybercrime forums in the world. The two platforms, Cracked and Nulled, had more than 10 million users in total. Both of these underground economy forums offered a quick entry point into the cybercrime ...

  • 5 linked to cyber espionage ring arrested in Türkiye

    January 27, 2025

    Authorities arrested five people on cyber espionage charges through a software system uncovered thanks to information from the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Turkish media reported Monday. An investigation led by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the capital, Ankara, discovered that a software program known as “Avatar” or “Adalet” (Turkish for “justice”), exclusively designed for attorneys, ...

  • FBI Agents’ Call And Text Logs Potentially Stolen In Data Breach

    January 23, 2025

    The FBI has raised alarm that hackers who breached AT&T’s system last year may have stolen months of agents’ call and text logs, which could potentially lead to the identities of anonymous informants connected to investigations. While the hackers did not access the content of conversations, the stolen call log metadata—records of who called whom, when ...