Hackers got hacked : Lockbit hackers group dismantled by governments

 
🌐 Global Operation Against Hackers
The hacker group had its own website where, among other things, the names of victims who did not pay quickly were made public. "This site is now under the control of the National Crime Agency of Great Britain, which has worked closely with the FBI and the international task force of 'Operation Cronos',” it now reads. Services from France, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, and Germany also participated in the operation.

🚨 Ongoing Efforts and Arrests
The operation is still ongoing.On Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that two Russians are under suspicion for organizing cyber attacks. In Poland and Ukraine, two members of Lokkbit were arrested. Europol has also blocked 200 cryptocurrency accounts. In the U.S., two suspects have been arrested and are being prosecuted for carrying out ransomware attacks.

 🏴‍☠️ Lockbit: A Growing Threat
Lockbit, likely founded by Russian hackers, had become the most feared criminal hacker gang in the world within a few years. They used ransomware, which encrypts computers until a ransom is paid. Those who do not comply can have their data published on the internet.

🎯 Prominent Victims
Last year, Lockbit dumped 7 gigabytes of stolen documents from the city of Geraardsbergen on the internet, stolen in September 2022. The data mainly consisted of financial information about citizens in debt mediation and people with medical issues. Last year, the group also hacked into China's largest bank and targeted the British postal service, Royal Mail.

🚔 Data Theft and Responses
Data stolen from the city of Geraardsbergen. 
The Dutch Football Association KNVB was also hacked by Lockbit. The KNVB paid ransom—presumably over 1 million euros in Monero—to prevent hacked personal data of members, among others, from being leaked. On the now-defunct site, the group claimed to be based in the Netherlands. According to U.S. authorities, the gang has affected more than 1,700 organizations in the United States, ranging from financial and educational institutions to food companies and government departments, demanding over 100 million dollars in ransom.