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Hackers and scammers from 18 African nations targeted and almost US$100 million recovered in multi-agency operation.
Law enforcement agencies from 18 African nations and the United Kingdom recently took part in an operation that led to the arrest of 1,209 cyber-criminals, alongside the disruption of 11,432 malicious infrastructures.
Led by Interpol, Operation Serengeti 2.0 – which ran between June and August – also saw the recovery of US$97.4 million.
"Each INTERPOL-coordinated operation builds on the last, deepening cooperation, increasing information sharing and developing investigative skills across member countries,” Valdecy Urquiza, Secretary General of INTERPOL, said in an August 22 statement.
“With more contributions and shared expertise, the results keep growing in scale and impact. This global network is stronger than ever, delivering real outcomes and safeguarding victims."
Angolan authorities dismantled 25 cryptocurrency mining centres engaging in illegal validation of blockchain transactions, while officials in Zambia took down a large-scale investment fraud scheme.
At the same time, law enforcement officials in Côte d'Ivoire disrupted a transnational inheritance scam that had cost its victims US$1.6 million.
Operation Serengeti 2.0 was held under the auspices of the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime, which is funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Several private sector partners were involved in the cyber-crackdown, including Fortinet, Group-IB, and Kaspersky.
“The operation also focused on prevention through a partnership with the International Cyber Offender Prevention Network (InterCOP), a consortium of law enforcement agencies from 36 countries dedicated to identifying and mitigating potential cybercriminal activity before it occurs,” Interpol said.
“The InterCOP project is led by the Netherlands and aims to promote a proactive approach to tackling cybercrime.”
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.
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