Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
Ukrainian police apprehended a father and son accused of being part of Lockbit, a notorious cybercrime group, as part of an international crackdown called "Operation Cronos" coordinated by the NCA, FBI, and other agencies.
These arrests, which took place on Wednesday, followed Tuesday's major operation that targeted the gang's operations. The suspects are charged with deploying ransomware against various organizations in France. During the arrests in Ternopil, Ukraine, authorities seized electronic devices linked to the crimes.
The combined efforts by law enforcement resulted in the seizure of over 200 cryptocurrency accounts and 34 servers across several countries, crippling the group's infrastructure.
Lockbit, known for extorting companies and threatening to publish their data, was significantly undermined when authorities harnessed the gang's website to expose its secrets publicly.
The crackdown, which was instigated by a French request, responds to over 200 Lockbit attacks in France since 2020, including ones targeting the justice ministry.
Poland's arrest of a 38-year-old associated with Lockbit in Warsaw aligns with these efforts, with French cyber police aiding in the operation. The Europol-coordinated task force, "Operation Cronos," was established upon the initiative of French investigators.