Europol recently revealed the dismantling of the infrastructure related to the Ragnar Locker ransomware and reported the arrest of a primary individual linked to this cyberthreat in France. The main suspect, believed to be the developer of the Ragnar group, faced the magistrates at the Paris Judicial Court. This operation also witnessed searches in Czechia, Spain, and Latvia, leading to the interrogation of five additional accomplices in Spain and Latvia.
Europols Aganst Ragnar Locker
In international law enforcement action, authorities in the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden seized the servers and the data leak portal associated with this ransomware gang.
This operation saw the collaboration of multiple countries, including Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the U.S. Since its inception in December 2019, Ragnar Locker has been notorious for its attacks on major infrastructure globally. Reports indicate that it targeted 168 international companies since 2020. The group was notorious for its double extortion method, demanding large payments for both decryption tools and to prevent the release of stolen sensitive data.
In parallel developments, Ukraine’s Cyber Police acted against a suspected member in Kyiv, confiscating several electronic devices. Additionally, the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance (UCA) managed to infiltrate and shut down a leak site operated by the Trigona ransomware group, The Hacker News reported.
The US Prosecutions
Furthermore, Sandu Diaconu, a Moldovan national, has been extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. following charges related to his administration of the E-Root Marketplace. This website, active until 2020, provided access to compromised computer credentials for malicious activities. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) highlighted the site’s widespread operation and its measures to conceal user identities.
Lastly, Marquis Hooper, an ex-U.S. Navy IT manager, received a prison sentence for illegally acquiring and selling personally identifiable information of 9,000 U.S. citizens on the dark web. Allegedly, he sold the stolen data on the dark web for $160,000 in bitcoin.
