LONDON.- The LockBit cybercriminal group, presented as the group of hackers “most damaging” in the world, was dismantled during an international police operation, the authorities of several countries announced on Tuesday.
“After infiltrating the group’s network, the NCA (British crime fighting agency) took control of LockBit’s services, compromising its entire criminal enterprise,” the NCA said in a statement.
According to her, the group attacked “thousands of victims around the world” and caused losses amounting to billions of dollars.
“We hack hackers,” Graeme Biggar, director general of the NCA, said at a news conference in London.
According to the United States, LockBit received more than $120 million in ransoms.
“This site is now under the control of law enforcement,” said a message on a LockBit site, stating that the British NCA took control of the site, in cooperation with the American FBI and agencies from several countries.
“We can confirm that LockBit services are being interrupted due to an ongoing international police operation,” the message adds.
In November 2022, the United States Department of Justice called LockBit malware the “most active and destructive variants in the world.”
LockBit targeted critical infrastructure and large industrial groups, with ransom demands ranging from $5.4 million to $75.4 million.
In 2023, the group attacked the British postal operator and a Canadian children’s hospital.
According to a US authorities site that refers to data from the federal police (FBI) in mid-June, the group carried out more than 1,700 attacks against victims in the United States and around the world (Australia, Canada and New Zealand, among others).
Source: AFP
