The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency revealed on Tuesday that it has seized control of the main operational system used by LockBit, the most dangerous cybercriminal organization globally. This action is part of Operation Cronos, a joint effort involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and various international collaborators from nine nations.
"The NCA has taken control of LockBit's primary administration environment, which enabled affiliates to build and carry out attacks, and the group's public-facing leak site on the dark web, on which they previously hosted, and threatened to publish, data stolen from victims," the agency said.
The group offered ransomware as a service (RaaS) to a worldwide network of hackers known as "affiliates," providing them with the necessary tools and infrastructure to carry out attacks on nearly 2,000 victims worldwide. These attacks resulted in billions of pounds, dollars, and euros in losses, encompassing both ransom payments and recovery expenses.
