Global Anti-Malware Crackdown Leads to 20 Arrest Warrants, Europol Says

A coordinated international operation this week disrupted some of the world’s “most dangerous malware” and led to the issuance of 20 arrest warrants, EU anti-crime bodies Europol and Eurojust said Friday.
The coordinated crackdown has dealt “a direct blow to the ransomware kill chain”, breaking it “at its source”, said Europol, the European Union’s criminal police agency.
The software taken down, known as “initial access malware”, is used “for initial infection, helping cybercriminals to enter victims’ systems unnoticed and load more malware onto their devices, such as ransomware”, the Hague-based agencies said.
The crackdown — involving authorities from Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States — is a continuation of Operation Endgame, the largest-ever police operation against botnets.
Between Monday and Thursday, the operation enabled the countries involved “to take action against the world’s most dangerous malware variants and the perpetrators behind them”, said Eurojust, the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.
“Thirty-seven suspects were identified and international arrest warrants were obtained against 20 individuals criminally charged.”



