A VPN service promoted to and used by cyber criminals has been dismantled in a global operation supported by Europol and Eurojust.
Led by agencies from the Netherlands and France, the operation targeted First VPN, a tool commonly promoted on Russian-language hacking forums.
The service offered hidden infrastructure, anonymous payments, and a raft of other criminal services.
“For years, cyber criminals saw this VPN service as a gateway to anonymity. They believed it would keep them beyond the reach of law enforcement,” Edvardas Šileris, head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, said in a recent statement.
“This operation proves them wrong. Taking it offline removes a critical layer of protection that criminals depended on to operate, communicate and evade law enforcement.”
The operation took place between 19 and 20 May. Law enforcement authorities interviewed the VPN’s administrator, conducted a search of a private residence in Ukraine, and dismantled 33 servers linked to the service.
In addition, several domains linked to the service were shut down, including 1vpns.com, 1vpns.net, and 1vpns.org.
Cyber security firm Bitdefender provided support to the operation, saying it “exemplifies the power of collaboration between the public and private security sector in dismantling illegal online activities, in this case, a VPN service designed to conceal attacks”.
“It also serves a message to criminals who believe the dark web covers their actions and guarantees their anonymity. If they become the target of an international effort, they can’t hide,” it said.
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David Hollingworth
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.