Tag Archive for: police

Police apprehend global cyber gang implicated in large-scale fraud

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The Met Police, a long with a host of other global law enforcement agencies, have dismantled a criminal gang that used a technology service to facilitate fraudulent text messages, leading to theft from victims. The scam primarily targeted younger individuals familiar with the internet. The technology service, LabHost, aided scammers in sending deceptive messages and directing victims to fake websites resembling legitimate online payment or shopping services.



The criminals obtained identity information, including card numbers and Pin codes, resulting in significant financial losses. Though the exact amount stolen remains unknown, LabHost reportedly generated nearly £1m in profits. In the UK alone, around 70,000 victims are thought to have been deceived into providing their details online, with 25,000 identified victims receiving warning text messages about potential fraudulent sites.

Victims are advised to seek guidance on the Metropolitan Police website, and their cases have been reported to fraud investigators. Personal details discovered in data obtained from LabHost have been secured by authorities.

In light of this story, the cybersecurity community has been positive in hearing this news:

Adam Pilton, Cyber Security Consultant at CyberSmart, and former Detective Sergeant investigating cybercrime at Dorset Police: “This is another fantastic result for UK and international law enforcement. 

“In February, we saw the takedown of Lockbit, the largest ransomware gang. This was an international operation which stemmed from fantastic work by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit.

“This operation will be no different, and we should not underestimate the amount of work put into operations such as this. It took two years to reach this point and there would have been many people involved. This kind of incident would most likely have started from the intelligence gathered by law enforcement and investigative agencies. 

“This is why it is so important to report cybercrime: Even reporting phishing emails helps to build that intelligence picture, which enables law enforcement to protect us.

“One area of particular concern is the increasing tendency to see…

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LockBit ransomware group back online after international police disruption

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Russian-based ransomware gang, Lockbit, said it has restored its servers and is back online following an international police operation last week that took it offline.

LockBit said law enforcement breached their dark website by exploiting a PHP programming language vulnerability, commonly used for building websites and online applications.

“All other servers with backup blogs that did not have PHP installed are unaffected and will continue to give out data stolen from the attacked companies,” said the statement posted on LockBit’s dark website, as reported by Reuters.

A spokesperson for the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), who led the international operation against LockBit, said the group remains ‘completely compromised’.

The NCA added the Agency recognised LockBit would likely attempt to regroup and rebuild its systems to facilitate their return online.

“However, we have gathered a huge amount of intelligence about them and those associated to them, and our work to target and disrupt them continues,” said the NCA.

The Russia-based group’s new site advertised a small number of alleged victims and leaked data. The new site showcased a gallery of company names alongside a countdown clock indicating the ransom payment deadline.

LockBit’s alleged leader, LockBitSupp, announced the ransomware group’s intensified focus on targeting government agencies following the takedown operation. Recently, reports have surfaced that LockBit has attacked Ernest Health, a network of 36 rehabilitation and critical care recovery hospitals spanning 13 US states.

“LockBit is back to attacking hospitals, Ernest Health allegedly breached,” said Dominic Alvieri on X (formerly Twitter).

Businesses Urged to Remain Vigilant

Vice President of Threat Research and Intelligence at BlackBerry Cybersecurity, Ismael Valenzuela, said the takedown of LockBit represented a positive step forward in curbing ransomware. However, the relaunch of its servers has ‘made it clear that victories are likely to be short-lived’. 

“Ultimately, LockBit’s absence will only create a vacuum for others to fill, particularly those who are already active yet largely unidentified,” said Valenzuela.

Valenzuela…

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Normalcy returns to OAUTH as police disperse protesting sacked workers

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Normal activities have returned to the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) with workers and patients having free entry and exit.

This followed police disruption of the indefinite protest embarked on by the sacked workers of the hospital.

Recall that the sacked workers, numbering over 1500, shut the gates of the hospital last Thursday in protest against their disengagement. They had vowed that the protest would continue indefinitely unless the institution’s management reverses their sack.

But as the protest entered Day 5 on Monday, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that men of the Nigeria Police Force invaded the protest arena, shooting into the air and throwing tear gas canisters to disperse the protesters.

FIRS

The security personnel later forced the shut gates open and stationed their patrol vehicles nearby to prevent further protest.

Meanwhile, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has intervened in the lingering industrial crisis.

A statement by the palace media office on Tuesday, stated that during a meeting with leaders of the sacked workers on Monday, the monarch donated a sum of N10 million and one thousand bags of rice to pacify them.

The statement added that the monarch’s gesture was to ameliorate their suffering, which was occasioned by the non-payment of their salaries for 14 months.

Ooni Ogunwusi assured the aggrieved workers that he was working with relevant stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Health, among others, to resolve the crisis.

“I am dedicating myself and the ancient throne of Oduduwa to fight this fight to a logical conclusion,” he said.

The monarch noted that the workers had the right to protest if they feel injustice has been meted out to them, but he urged them to apply wisdom in order to achieve desired results.

ALSO READ: Sacked OAUTH employees shut down hospital in protest

“I am happy that you all have demonstrated core Omoluabi ethos of descendants of Oduduwa by allowing operations to resume at the hospital upon receiving my message. You have honoured me and I pray that God will honour you all.

“Beyond that, I wish to assure you that the Palace will support your dreams and aspirations in life even beyond…

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Ukrainian Police Arrest Cryptojacking Hacker

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The Ukrainian National Police said on Friday that they had arrested a hacker in the southern city of Mykolaiv in connection with a sophisticated scheme to hijack cloud computers to mine cryptocurrencies, a ploy known as “cryptojacking.”

Ukraine HackerUkrainian police seized electronic devices, SIM and bank card from the suspected hacker. (Photo: Національна поліція України, License)Over the last two years, the 29-year-old suspect allegedly managed to mine nearly US$2 million in cryptocurrencies. The authorities did not release either the suspect’s name or the name of the U.S. company whose server was allegedly misused.

The suspect is accused of infecting that server with malware, known as a “miner virus” — malicious software that steals a computer’s resources to generate cryptocurrency, allowing the hacker to steal money and transfer it to controlled electronic wallets.

According to the police, the suspect hacked 1,500 accounts belonging to the unnamed company’s clients, using a technique known as brute force—self-developed software for automatic password selection.

He then used the compromised accounts to gain access to the cloud computing provider, secretly infecting the company’s server with the malicious software.

The suspect used its computational power to mine cryptocurrencies, allowing him to avoid paying for server time and power.

The stolen computer time typically cost more than the profits mined, so that compromised account holders were left with substantial cloud bills.

During the search of the suspect’s home, the police seized “computer equipment, bank and SIM cards, electronic media, and other evidence of illegal activity.”

The investigation into the case continues, with authorities targeting potential accomplices of the suspect and examining his possible connections with a pro-Russian hacker group, according to Ukrainian police.

Europol, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, which supported the operation, said that the arrest followed “months of intensive collaboration between Ukrainian authorities, Europol and a cloud provider, who worked tirelessly to identify and locate the individual behind the…

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