Login
iscover
Share this article on:
Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
Powered by MOMENTUMMEDIA
A law enforcement operation involving agencies from 26 countries responsible for 32 arrests and the seizure of 41 malicious servers.
An Interpol-led operation involving law enforcement agencies from 26 countries has taken down 20,642 malicious IP addresses related to info-stealer malware.
Operation Secure ran from January to 25 April and involved agencies under the Asia and South Pacific Joint Operations Against Cybercrime (ASPJOC) Project, with technical assistance from Group-IB, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro prior to the operation.
In addition to taking down the malicious IPs – which Interpol said made up 79 per cent of all identified addresses – the operation saw 100 gigabytes of data seized, investigated 69 unique info-stealer variants, and arrested 32 individuals allegedly involved in related cyber crime activities.
Eighteen suspects were arrested in Vietnam, 12 in Sri Lanka, and two in Nauru. Hong Kong Police alone identified 117 command-and-control servers used by cyber criminals to host and manage info-stealer infrastructure as well as to launch phishing and social media scams.
In addition, 216,058 victims were notified and warned to change their passwords and remove any unauthorised access to their devices.
“Interpol continues to support practical, collaborative action against global cyber threats,” Neal Jetton, Interpol’s director of cyber crime, said in an 11 June statement.
“Operation Secure has once again shown the power of intelligence sharing in disrupting malicious infrastructure and preventing large-scale harm to both individuals and businesses.”
The countries that participated in Operation Secure were Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Korea (Republic of), Laos, Macau (China), Malaysia, Maldives, Nauru, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
Info stealers are a form of malware capable of infecting a device and harvesting sensitive data such as login credentials, passwords, and credit card numbers.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
Be the first to hear the latest developments in the cyber industry.
