The Ukrainian National Police and the National Gendarmerie said they arrested two members of the Lockbit hacker gang in a town in western Ukraine. They were in charge, among other things, of money laundering.
New information is emerging around “Operation Cronos” which took down Lockbit, the most feared hacker group. The National Gendarmerie and Ukrainian police forces arrested one individual in Poland and two in Ukraine, according to press releases published on February 21, 2024. Ukrainian law enforcement indicates that the two Lockbit members were a father and son, who reside in the town of Ternopil, in the west of the country. “ These criminals affected individuals, businesses, government agencies and healthcare facilities in France », We can read in the press release. Lockbit is in fact responsible for the cyberattacks against the Corbeil-Essonnes hospital and against the Loiret department.
Questioned by Le Parisien, Colonel Pascal Péresse, head of the operations division of the Center for the Fight against Digital Crime (C3N), declared: “ They served as nominees and acted in the laundering of cryptocurrencies. Several electronic wallets have been seized and are being valued. We force them to mark time by hitting them in the wallet. » Criminal organizations such as Lockbit generally rely on dozens of individuals scattered across several countries to cover their tracks.
Cybercriminals still wanted in Russia
To definitively put an end to Lockbit’s activity, police forces in 10 countries seized more than 200 cryptocurrency accounts linked to criminal activity and blocked 34 servers in Europe, the United States and Australia. Arrest warrants have been issued for two Russian nationals. Five suspected members are still in this country.
The main platform that the Lockbit hackers were operating on was hacked by law enforcement. The latter hijacked the site to publish police press releases, arrest warrants and mockery against the gang’s leaders.
The operation to put an end to this group of cybercriminals could only be colossal. Lockbit was the largest ransomware collective with more than 2,000 cyberattacks recorded, with famous victims such as Boeing, the equipment manufacturer Continental and the Royal Mail (the British post office). Although the main perpetrators are probably safe in Russia, the international police force remains significant and proves that it is possible to put an end to gang activity.
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