European and North American police took control of the infrastructure behind a massive network used by criminals to commit cybercrime on Wednesday, the AP reports.
Why it matters: By claiming the infrastructure, authorities have dealt a major blow to cyber criminals who use Emotet – one of the world’s largest networks of hijacked computers – to install ransomware as part of extortion programs and financial theft robberies.
Context: Ransomware criminals have paralyzed healthcare systems and governments using networks of hijacked computers such as Emotet.
- Ransomware works by encrypting a victim’s data, allowing criminals to demand money in exchange for decryption software to recover the data.
The big picture: The European Union Police and the judicial agencies Europol and Eurojus, two agencies based in The Hague, coordinated the operation with authorities in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, the UK, France, Lithuania, Canada and Ukraine.
Meanwhile: The FBI announced on Wednesday that it has arrested a Canadian as part of an effort to disrupt the NetWalker ransomware gang, which it says was aimed at healthcare. Included in the arrest was the seizure of nearly half a million dollars worth of cryptocurrency.
Thought bubble, via Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute: The sheer number of countries involved and the scope of the operation and coordination headaches show just how serious cybercriminal groups and botnets have become.
- As Wired notes, it was a “global effort” that brought down command-and-control infrastructure in 90 countries.
- And unlike a concerted public-private action last year to hinder the massive Trickbot botnet, the move against Emotet appears to be aimed at permanently crushing it.
Go deeper: The Rise and Rise of Ransomware