Europol has announced that it has taken down two of the largest cyber crime networks in the world as a result of an international operation led by German police.
In a statement, Europol said an multi-state operation supported by its experts has taken down the platforms in question, Cracked and Nulled, which had more than 10 million users in total.
The international police force says, “Both of these underground economy forums offered a quick entry point into the cybercrime scene. These sites worked as one-stop shops and were used not only for discussions on cybercrime but also as marketplaces for illegal goods and cybercrime-as-a-service, such as stolen data, malware or hacking tools.”
Investigators estimate that those suspected of involvement in the cybercrime networks made in the region of €1 million euro in criminal profits.
The operation which took place between the 28th of January concluding today, resulted in the arrest of two suspects, searches of seven properties, and the seizure of 17 servers and over 50 electronic devices.
Approximately €300 000 in cash and cryptocurrencies was also seized.
Investigators says that throughout the course of the action day, 12 domains within the platforms Cracked and Nulled were seized “while other associated services were also taken down; including a financial processor named Sellix which was used by Cracked, and a hosting service called StarkRDP, which was promoted on both of the platforms and run by the same suspects.”
Europol says that throughout the investigation its officers “provided operational, analytic and forensic support to authorities involved in the case. On the action day, a specialist and an analyst were deployed on the spot to work hand-in-hand with German investigators.”
Europol says that, “cybercrime-as-a-service is a growing trend on platforms like Cracked.io and Nulled.to.”
It says that cybercriminals “offer tools and infrastructure as a service, enabling even less technically-skilled individuals to carry out attacks.”
The force says this trend makes cybercrime increasingly accessible to a wider group of people, as these platforms often share security vulnerabilities and even provide tutorials on creating malware and engaging in other criminal activities.
The two platforms taken down as part of the operation also “offered AI-based tools and scripts to automatically scan for security vulnerabilities and optimise attacks.”
Europol says that advanced “phishing techniques” are frequently developed and shared on these platforms, “sometimes employing AI to create more personalised and convincing messages.”
The force says it is dedicated to strengthening the fight against this sort of crime by bringing relevant partners together for cross-border cooperation and joint action as cybercrime “becomes more aggressive and confrontational,”.
The following police forces participated in the operation: