SSU in cooperation with law enforcement agencies of the USA, UK and EU exposed international group of ransomware hackers

SSU in cooperation with law enforcement agencies of the USA, UK and EU exposed international group of ransomware hackers

Cyber specialists from the Security Service, together with law enforcement agencies of the United States, Great Britain, the European Union and other partner countries, conducted a large-scale special operation in different parts of the world.

As a result of joint actions, members of a powerful international group of hackers called “LockBit” were exposed.

According to the case materials, the attackers stole secret information and personal data from well-known companies, and then demanded a “ransom” for them.

Among the organizers and participants of the group were citizens of Ukraine and Russia.

Over the course of almost 5 years, attackers carried out more than 3 thousand cyber attacks against financial institutions and corporations of Western countries providing defense assistance to Ukraine.

It is documented that hackers demanded more than $90 million from just one American company.

Hackers used specially designed ransomware to steal corporate information.

According to the investigation, members of the group remotely launched malicious software onto users’ computers.

After this, the virus collected sensitive information, and then blocked the operation of computer equipment and offered to restore it after paying money.

In case of refusal, the attackers threatened not only to paralyze the entire technological process of the victim companies, but also to leak their confidential information into an open network.

As a result of a multi-stage special operation by the SSU and Western partners, the darknet sites of the hacker group were blocked by law enforcement officers.

In addition, more than 30 servers from which attackers carried out cyber attacks and where stolen data were stored were seized in the United States and seven European Union countries.

At the same time, more than 200 cryptocurrency accounts of the criminal group were blocked.

During investigative actions in Ukraine, mobile phones and computers with evidence of illegal activities were discovered. The obtained material evidence will be provided to international partners to continue the investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.