Interpol | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

A global law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of more than 5,500 suspects involved in financial crimes and the seizure of more than $400 million in virtual assets and government-backed currencies. The coordinated exercise saw the participation of authorities from 40 countries, territories, and regions as part of the latest wave of Operation HAECHI-V , which took place between July and November 2024, INTERPOL said. "The effects of cyber-enabled crime can be devastating – people losing their life savings, businesses crippled, and trust in digital and financial systems undermined," INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said in a statement. "The borderless nature of cybercrime means international police cooperation is essential, and the success of this operation supported by INTERPOL shows what results can be achieved when countries work together. It's only through united efforts that we can make the real and digital worlds safer." As part of H...

An INTERPOL-led operation has led to the arrest of 1,006 suspects across 19 African countries and the takedown of 134,089 malicious infrastructures and networks as part of a coordinated effort to disrupt cybercrime in the continent. Dubbed Serengeti , the law enforcement exercise took place between September 2 and October 31, 2024, and targeted criminals behind ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), digital extortion, and online scams. The participating nations in the operation were Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These activities, which ranged from online credit card fraud and Ponzi schemes to investment and multi-level marketing scams, victimized more than 35,000 people, leading to financial losses nearly amounting to $193 million across the world. In connection with the $6 million online Ponzi ...

Vulnerability Management (VM) has long been a cornerstone of organizational cybersecurity. Nearly as old as the discipline of cybersecurity itself, it aims to help organizations identify and address potential security issues before they become serious problems. Yet, in recent years, the limitations of this approach have become increasingly evident.  At its core, Vulnerability Management processes remain essential for identifying and addressing weaknesses. But as time marches on and attack avenues evolve, this approach is beginning to show its age. In a recent report, How to Grow Vulnerability Management into Exposure Management (Gartner, How to Grow Vulnerability Management Into Exposure Management, 8 November 2024, Mitchell Schneider Et Al.), we believe Gartner® addresses this point precisely and demonstrates how organizations can – and must – shift from a vulnerability-centric strategy to a broader Exposure Management (EM) framework. We feel it's more than a worthwhile read an...

INTERPOL on Tuesday said it took down more than 22,000 malicious servers linked to various cyber threats as part of a global operation. Dubbed Operation Synergia II, the coordinated effort ran from April 1 to August 31, 2024, targeting phishing, ransomware, and information stealer infrastructure. "Of the approximately 30,000 suspicious IP addresses identified, 76 per cent were taken down and 59 servers were seized," INTERPOL said . "Additionally, 43 electronic devices, including laptops, mobile phones and hard disks were seized." The actions also led to the arrest of 41 individuals, with 65 others still under investigation. Some of the other key outcomes across countries are listed below - Takedown of more than 1,037 servers by Hong Kong police Seizure of a server and the identification of 93 individuals with links to illegal cyber activities in Mongolia Disruption of 291 servers in Macau Identification of 11 individuals with links to malicious servers and...

INTERPOL has announced the arrest of eight individuals in Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria as part of a crackdown on phishing scams and romance cyber fraud. Dubbed Operation Contender 2.0, the initiative is designed to tackle cyber-enabled crimes in West Africa, the agency said. One such threat involved a large-scale phishing scam targeting Swiss citizens that resulted in financial losses to the tune of more than $1.4 million. The cybercriminals posed as buyers on small advertising websites and used QR codes to direct victims to fraudulent websites that mimicked a legitimate payment platform. This allowed victims to inadvertently enter personal information such as their credentials or card numbers. The perpetrators also impersonated the unnamed platform's customer service agents over the phone to further deceive them. As many as 260 scam reports are said to have been received by Swiss authorities between August 2023 and April 2024, prompting a collaborative investigation that ...

The Indian government said it has rescued and repatriated about 250 citizens in Cambodia who were held captive and coerced into running cyber scams. The Indian nationals "were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)  said  in a statement, adding it had rescued 75 people in the past three months. It also said it's working with "with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes." The development comes in the wake of a  report  from the Indian Express that said more than 5,000 Indians stuck in Cambodia were forced into "cyber slavery" by organized crime rackets to scam people in India and extort money by masquerading as law enforcement authorities in some cases. The report also tracks with an earlier disclosure from INTERPOL, which characterized the situation as  human trafficking-fu...

An INTERPOL-led collaborative operation targeting phishing, banking malware, and ransomware attacks has led to the identification of 1,300 suspicious IP addresses and URLs. The  law enforcement effort , codenamed  Synergia , took place between September and November 2023 in an attempt to blunt the "growth, escalation and professionalization of transnational cybercrime." Involving 60 law enforcement agencies spanning 55 member countries, the exercise paved the way for the detection of more than 1,300 malicious servers, 70% of which have already been taken down in Europe. Hong Kong and Singapore authorities took down 153 and 86 servers, respectively. Servers, as well as electronic devices, were confiscated following over 30 house searches. Seventy suspects have been identified to date, and 31 from Europe, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe have been arrested. Singapore-headquartered Group-IB, which also contributed to the operation,  said  it identified "more than 500 IP ...

A coordinated law enforcement operation across 25 African countries has led to the arrest of 14 suspected cybercriminals, INTERPOL  announced  Friday. The exercise, conducted in partnership with AFRIPOL, enabled investigators to identify 20,674 cyber networks that were linked to financial losses of more than $40 million. "The four-month Africa Cyber Surge II operation was launched in April 2023 and focused on identifying cybercriminals and compromised infrastructure," the agency said. As part of the operation, three suspects were arrested in Cameroon in connection with an online scam involving the fraudulent sale of works of art worth $850,000. Another suspect was arrested in Nigeria for defrauding a Gambian victim. Also arrested were two money mules linked to scams initiated through messaging platforms. The cyber networks comprised 3,786 command-and-control (C2) servers, 14,134 victim IP addresses tied to data stealer infections, 1,415 phishing links and domains, 939 ...

Interpol has announced the takedown of a phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform called 16Shop, in addition to the arrests of three individuals in Indonesia and Japan. 16Shop specialized in the sales of phishing kits that other cybercriminals can purchase to mount phishing attacks on a large scale, ultimately facilitating the theft of credentials and payment details from users of popular services such as Apple, PayPal, American Express, Amazon, and Cash App, among others. "Victims typically receive an email with a pdf file or link that redirects to a site requesting the victims' credit card or other personally identifiable information," Interpol  said . "This information is then stolen and used to extract money from the victims." No less than 70,000 users across 43 countries are estimated to have been compromised via services offered on 16Shop. The law enforcement operation has also led to the arrest of the site's administrator, a 21-year-old Indonesian...

A suspected senior member of a French-speaking hacking crew known as OPERA1ER has been arrested as part of an international law enforcement operation codenamed Nervone, Interpol has announced. "The group is believed to have stolen an estimated USD 11 million -- potentially as much as 30 million -- in more than 30 attacks across 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," the agency  said . The arrest was made by authorities in Côte d'Ivoire early last month. Additional insight was provided by the U.S. Secret Service's Criminal Investigative Division and Booz Allen Hamilton DarkLabs. The financially motivated collective is also known by the aliases Common Raven, DESKTOP-GROUP, and NX$M$. Its modus operandi was  first exposed  by Group-IB and Orange CERT Coordination Center (Orange-CERT-CC) in November 2022, detailing its intrusions on banks, financial services, and telecom companies between March 2018 and October 2022. Earlier this January, Broadcom's S...

Interpol on Thursday  announced  the seizure of $130 million worth of virtual assets in connection with a global crackdown on cyber-enabled financial crimes and money laundering. The international police operation, dubbed  HAECHI-III , transpired between June 28 and November 23, 2022, resulting in the arrests of 975 individuals and the closure of more than 1,600 cases. This comprised two fugitives wanted by South Korea for their supposed involvement in a Ponzi scheme to embezzle €28 million from 2,000 victims. Another instance pertained to a call center scam based out of India, wherein a group of criminals impersonated Interpol and Europol officers to trick victims in Austria into transferring funds. The call centers operated from New Delhi and Noida. The illegal activity informed the victims that their "identities were stolen and crime pertaining to narcotics drugs were committed in their names," forcing them to make a money transfer. "In order to clear themselve...

The International Criminal Police Organization, also called the Interpol, has announced the arrests of 75 individuals as part of a coordinated global operation against an organized cyber crime syndicate called  Black Axe . "'Black Axe' and other West African organized crime groups have developed transnational networks, defrauding victims of millions while channeling their profits into lavish lifestyles and other criminal activities, from drug trafficking to sexual exploitation," the agency  said . The law enforcement effort, codenamed Operation Jackal, involved the participation of Argentina, Australia, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, the U.A.E, the U.K., and the U.S. Black Axe, which originated as a confraternity in Nigeria around 1977 before evolving into a mafia group, has not only been linked to killing and scamming operations, but also has been accused of infiltrating the country's political s...

Interpol on Monday announced the arrest of three suspected global scammers in Nigeria for using remote access trojans (RATs) such as Agent Tesla to facilitate malware-enabled cyber fraud. "The men are thought to have used the RAT to reroute financial transactions, stealing confidential online connection details from corporate organizations, including oil and gas companies in South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa," the International Criminal Police Organization  said  in a statement. One of the scammers in question, named Hendrix Omorume, has been charged and convicted of three counts of financial fraud and has been sentenced to a 12-month prison term. The two other suspects are still on trial. The three Nigerian individuals, who are aged between 31 and 38, have been apprehended for being in possession of fake documents such as fraudulent invoices and forged official letters. The law enforcement said that the suspects systematically used Agent Tesla to breach...

A joint four-month operation coordinated by Interpol, the international criminal police organization, has culminated in the arrests of more than 1,000 cybercriminals and the recovery of $27 million in illicit proceeds. Codenamed " HAECHI-II ," the crackdown enabled law enforcement units from across 20 countries, as well as Hong Kong and Macao, close 1,660 cases alongside blocking 2,350 bank accounts linked to the fraudulent illicit funds amassed from a range of online financial crimes, such as romance scams, investment fraud, and money laundering associated with illegal online gambling. "The results of Operation HAECHI-II show that the surge in online financial crime generated by the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of waning,"  said  Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock in a press statement issued on November 26. The coordinated law enforcement probe took place over a period of four months, starting from June 2021 until September 2021, with ten new criminal...

A top Interpol chief has expressed concerns about the cybersecurity measures in banks across the region. According to Major Ali Qubaisi, the Interpol team leader for the Middle East and North Africa, and head of the Economic Crimes unit of the Qatari Interior Ministry, banks in the region are "under-protected" against cybercrime. Additionally, legislation is not keeping pace with technological advancements. In an exclusive interview with Emirates 24|7, Major Qubaisi highlighted that the protective measures adopted by Arab banks against cybercrime are insufficient. "Some of these banks are surprised by the number of crimes being committed, but that is due to a lack of protection which should be adopted in this vital sector," he stated. He emphasized that as many as 50% of Arab banks need "electronic patrols." These patrols consist of groups that work online to track and detect any attempts to penetrate a bank's systems. Major Qubaisi explained that mo...

The emergence of cyber-crime, which transcends man-made boundaries, has underscored the urgent need for global cooperation among law enforcement agencies to prevent and solve these crimes, according to a senior Dubai Police official. At the Third International Conference on Interpol for the Middle East and North Africa, Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Deputy Commander-in-Chief, highlighted the importance of international cooperation. He cited an example where such cooperation enabled Dubai to arrest a child molester accused of crimes in a European country while the perpetrator was in the UAE. Dubai Police have made significant progress in combating cyber-crime, particularly after establishing a dedicated department to address high-tech crimes emerging alongside rapid technological growth. Speaking at the conference held at the Dubai Police Academy, Al Mazeina emphasized Interpol's interest in leveraging global police resources, given the far-reaching impact o...