Europol: Four Russians Arrested in Major Hacking Operation

Four Russian citizens working for one of 2024’s most active hacking extortion gangs have been arrested as a result of an international anti-cybercrime sting, Europol, the European law enforcement agency, announced Monday.

Roman Berezhnoy, 33, and Egor Nikolaevich Glebov, 39, were two of the Russians who were detained, according to the US Justice Department. If found guilty of computer fraud, extortion, and other offences, they could spend decades behind bars.

Evgenii Ptitsyn, another suspected hacker gang member, was extradited to the US from South Korea in November to face accusations that he released ransomware that infected hospitals, schools, and other establishments.

The cyber ring known as 8Base, according to Europol, was “particularly aggressive” in its use of ransomware, a technique in which hackers encrypt victims’ data and then demand payment to unlock their files or devices.

EU Police: Four Russians arrested in major hacking operation. Credit: European Union

“A coordinated international law enforcement action last week led to the arrest of four individuals leading the 8Base ransomware group,” the agency with headquarters in the Hague stated.

“These individuals, all Russian nationals, are suspected of deploying a variant of Phobos ransomware to extort high-value payments from victims across Europe and beyond.

“Threat intelligence identifies… 8Base as among the most active ransomware groups of 2024.”

According to Europol, the operation, which involved law enforcement agencies from 14 different nations, enabled authorities to alert over 400 businesses worldwide about the dangers posed by cyberattacks.

The FBI hinted that 27 servers connected to the criminal network had also been shut down.

First identified in December 2018, Phobos is a commonly used ransomware weapon that mostly targets small and medium-sized organisations with inadequate security, according to Europol.

The agency claims that Phobos is included in the list of the most dangerous ransomware threats for 2024.

According to Europol, 8Base modified the ransomware “to tailor attacks for maximum impact.”

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Japan’s National Police Agency, the British National Crime Agency, and the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime in Germany were among the participating police forces.