In a significant international law enforcement effort, agencies from the UK, US, and EU have successfully dismantled the infrastructure of the LockBit ransomware gang, one of the most notorious cybercrime groups globally. The operation, dubbed 'Operation Cronos,' involved seizing several darknet domains operated by LockBit, arresting two members of the group in Poland and Ukraine, issuing three arrest warrants, and releasing a decryption tool for victims. The FBI and the National Crime Agency (NCA) played key roles in the operation, which also saw the seizure of over 200 cryptocurrency wallets associated with the group. This crackdown follows a surge in ransomware costs, which exceeded $1.1 billion for the first time in 2023, nearly doubling from the previous year and exploiting CVE-2023-3824. The LockBit gang, responsible for a significant portion of these attacks, including a high-profile attack on Georgia's Fulton County, has been effectively neutralized, with law enforcement officials confident that the group will be unable to regain control of their servers.
LockBit Ransomware Operation Shut Down; Criminals Arrested; Decryption Keys Released: https://t.co/YNVmDhPR4r by The Hacker News #infosec #cybersecurity #technology #news
UK and FBI take over ransomware group’s website https://t.co/wd9MDvCOpi
US Charges Two Russian Nationals for Lockbit Ransomware Attacks https://t.co/gURa9WJCsj
LockBit gang members arrested in Poland and Ukraine https://t.co/C5ZvSDmnXv
British authorities seize control of Lockbit Hacker Group's website https://t.co/uDB6SltLDn https://t.co/KqBeJl2lWr
Britain, the US and the EU announce the dismantling of the Lockbit cybercrime network https://t.co/bMxFv6aQZ5 https://t.co/FsNsWU9li4
LockBit is locked up (well, some of them anyway) https://t.co/38vH0jafHM
U.S. and U.K. Disrupt LockBit Ransomware Variant U.S. Indictment Charges Two Russian Nationals with Attacks Against Multiple U.S. and International Victims; FBI Seizes Infrastructure; and Department of Treasury Takes Additional Action Against LockBit 🔗: https://t.co/WBSQF76W6u
Police arrests LockBit ransomware members, release decryptor in global crackdown via @serghei https://t.co/yFi3Ff8W5A
The takedown of Lockbit tor sites by law enforcement is a big deal. Our data shows that Lockbit was the biggest ransomware group, behind 21% of all attacks in 2023. Lockbit has attacked thousands of organizations over the last 5 years, and collected a fortune in ransom payments. https://t.co/pQvJtRTV3x
#BREAKING International crime enforcers disrupt 'most harmful cyber crime group' https://t.co/7TK0zVGOow
Law enforcement arrests two LockBit operators in Poland and Ukraine, issues three arrest warrants, releases a decryption tool, and seizes 200+ crypto wallets (@serghei / BleepingComputer) https://t.co/4gYpnKf05N 📫 Subscribe: https://t.co/OyWeKSRpIM https://t.co/xjZXwLhUUX
The NCA reveals details of an international disruption campaign targeting the world’s most harmful cyber crime group, Lockbit. Watch our video and read on to learn more about Lockbit and why this is a huge step in our collective fight against cyber crime. https://t.co/m00VFWkR9Z
A notorious cyber crime group described by spies as the biggest ransomware threat to companies in Britain has been dismantled in an operation spearheaded by the National Crime Agency https://t.co/P5ctIVRe0B
Royal Mail hackers LockBit hit by global law enforcement task force https://t.co/cgzXvHn1zJ
FBI, UK’s NCA and Europol join forces to swoop in on hacker group LockBit https://t.co/GwZ0mbkps7
Hacker website that aids cyber attacks taken over by UK-led law enforcement operation https://t.co/P9eRqYNo2B
Dark web site run by ransomware cybergang Lockbit that was behind high-profile hacking of Royal Mail is seized in joint sting by the National Crime Agency and FBI https://t.co/zVLE2sYvaF https://t.co/oMxFfez5j4
NEW: A website selling services that allow people to organise cyber attacks and hold data until a ransom is paid appears to have been taken over by UK law enforcement. READ: https://t.co/pWb7bcsNDA https://t.co/aAdMWYonS9
Brilliant work by @NCA_UK & international partners - locking criminals out of their own ransomware website! #Cybersecurity helps keeps organisations & individuals safe, but it also has the potential to be a huge enabler of economic growth @NCSC https://t.co/DiVkSiNaBm
US, UK authorities claim seizure of LockBit ransomware gang’s dark web leak site: https://t.co/1WXypTcN9N by TechCrunch #infosec #cybersecurity #technology #news
How A Hacker Group Was Taken Down By An International Operation https://t.co/DtK3NS6WzL https://t.co/rd9ylDe3d9
US, UK authorities claim seizure of LockBit ransomware gang’s dark web leak site https://t.co/gJ8aRG3vtw
British police take control of notorious cybercrime gang Lockbit's website https://t.co/pZvQxCSttU
LockBit website seized and operations disrupted by the FBI and NCA https://t.co/DfhrpdATFK https://t.co/VMVuYt9p16
Hacker group's site taken over by law enforcement https://t.co/CDzPuHIDaX
International law enforcement agencies seize multiple darknet domains operated by #LockBit, a notorious #ransomware group, in a major takedown. Find details here: https://t.co/YTYuBoYnk8 #cybersecurity #hacking #malware
In an exclusive interview, FBI cyber official tells @AJVicens that "LockBit will be unable to regain control of the servers the actors were using" after law enforcement seized infrastructure of the ransomware group. https://t.co/Qp2JdRDwwL
#LockBit website under control of security agencies from both sides of Atlantic, according to post 👀 https://t.co/n7P6EyAHzZ
International law enforcement operation takes down LockBit leak site https://t.co/085r239mq4
Lockbit ransomware group administration claims that law enforcement agencies compromised them by exploiting CVE-2023-3824 More information: https://t.co/28v1Yz4L7t
Prolific cybercrime gang disrupted by joint UK, US and EU operation https://t.co/iAttr2fsuX
Operation Cronos: law enforcement disrupted the LockBit operation: https://t.co/6LU5svPG7u by Security Affairs #infosec #cybersecurity #technology #news
International law enforcement has taken down the dark web site tied to ransomware gang LockBit — which claimed responsibility for an online attack on Georgia's Fulton County, where the DA is pursing a case against Trump and others over the 2020 election https://t.co/g67joCGusv
Looks like British and American law enforcement agencies have dismantled infrastructure used by one of the world's most notorious ransomware gangs. https://t.co/aoSW7eblo6
#Lockbit is Tango Down! https://t.co/CBd69Nfs63
Ransomware costs exceeded $1 billion for the first time in 2023, nearly doubling YoY from $567M in 2022. Costs are up 5x in 4 years, reaching $1.1B in 2023 from just $220M in 2019. $CRWD $PANW $ZS $S $MSFT https://t.co/pyeOMYzakz