An International Coalition of Police Agencies Takes Down Online Scammers
An international coalition of police agencies has taken a major whack at criminals accused of running a host of online scams, including phishing, the stealing of account credentials and other sensitive data, and the spreading of ransomware, Interpol said recently.
Operation Synergia II: A Global Response
The operation, which ran from the beginning of April through the end of August, resulted in the arrest of 41 people and the takedown of 1,037 servers and other infrastructure running on 22,000 IP addresses. Synergia II, as the operation was named, was the work of multiple law enforcement agencies across the world, as well as three cybersecurity organizations.
Global Highlights
Hong Kong (China): Police supported the operation by taking offline more than 1,037 servers linked to malicious services.
Mongolia: Investigations included 21 house searches, the seizure of a server and the identification of 93 individuals with links to illegal cyber activities.
Macau (China): Police took 291 servers offline.
Madagascar: Authorities identified 11 individuals with links to malicious servers and seized 11 electronic devices for further investigation.
Estonia: Police seized more than 80GB of server data, and authorities are now working with INTERPOL to conduct further analysis of data linked to phishing and banking malware.
Cybersecurity Partners
The three private cybersecurity organizations that were part of Operation Synergia II were Group-IB, Kaspersky, and Team Cymru. All three used the telemetry intelligence in their possession to identify malicious servers and made it available to participating law enforcement agencies.
Conclusion
Operation Synergia II is a significant success in the global fight against cybercrime. The international coalition of police agencies and cybersecurity organizations has made a significant impact by dismantling malicious infrastructure and preventing hundreds of thousands of potential victims from falling prey to cybercrime.
FAQs
Q: What was Operation Synergia II?
A: Operation Synergia II was an international operation conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies across the world, as well as three cybersecurity organizations, to take down online scammers and disrupt malicious cyber activities.
Q: What was the scope of the operation?
A: The operation resulted in the arrest of 41 people and the takedown of 1,037 servers and other infrastructure running on 22,000 IP addresses.
Q: Which countries were involved in the operation?
A: Hong Kong (China), Mongolia, Macau (China), Madagascar, and Estonia were among the countries involved in the operation.
Q: What were the private cybersecurity organizations involved in the operation?
A: Group-IB, Kaspersky, and Team Cymru were the three private cybersecurity organizations involved in the operation.
Q: What was the outcome of the operation?
A: The operation resulted in the disruption of malicious cyber activities, the lawful seizures of servers and other electronic devices, and arrests. It also prevented hundreds of thousands of potential victims from falling prey to cybercrime.
