19 February 2024
The NCA, FBI, Europol and multiple national police agencies have disrupted Lockbit, a major cybercrime gang dealing in “ransomware as a service."
Lockbit’s darkweb site is now under NCA control, with the homepage reading:
🚨 This site is now under the control of the National Crime Agency of the UK, working in close cooperation with the FBI and the international law enforcement task force, ‘Operation Cronos’
The international law enforcement operation is still ongoing, but Reuters reports screenshots posted on X showing the control panel used to launch attacks replaced with a message from law enforcement:
🚨 We have source code, details of the victims you have attacked, the amount of money extorted, the data stolen, chats, and much, much more… We may be in touch with you very soon. Have a nice day.
Lockbit and its affiliate groups have hacked some of the world’s biggest organisations with ransomware attacks, including Boeing and the UK Royal Mail, and over 1,700 organisations in the US alone. US officials described it as the world’s top ransomware threat.
I started my career in cyber and digital regulation at the NCA’s precursor, the Serious Organised Crime Agency. I’m extremely proud of former colleagues at the NCA for taking down arguably the biggest ransomware group in the world.