97 arrested over BlackShades malware

BlackShades
BlackShades has been used as ransomware

97 people were arrested during raids on 359 houses in a global operation to catch cyber criminals who created, sold and used the infamous BlackShades malware.

The investigation was co-ordinated by Eurojust, with the help of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre and the FBI.

The arrests were made in the UK, US, Belgium, France, Germany, Finland, Austria, Estonia, Denmark, Italy, Croatia, Canada, Chile, Switzerland, and Moldova.

1,100 devices, including computers, mobile phones, external hard drives, USB memory sticks, and routers, were seized during the operation, in addition to the BlackShades web domain. Money, drugs and illegal firearms were also confiscated.

The blackest shade

BlackShades RAT, the primary malware of the BlackShades family, is a sophisticated piece of malicious software that can give hackers complete control of a user's computer.

The malware has been used to access documents, record keystrokes, conduct DDoS attacks, and even activate and record footage from the user's webcam.

A recent case in the Netherlands involved an 18-year-old man hijacking the webcams of women and girls, with as many as 2,000 computers infected.

BlackShades has also been used as ransomware, where hackers would encrypt files and demand money from users to regain access to them.

Cross-border co-operation

"Operation BlackShades is a fine example of cross-border judicial cooperation in practice. The Internet is not a safe environment for criminals," said Lodewijk van Zwieten, Prosecutor of the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office, and Koen Hermans, Assistant to the National Member for the Netherlands.

"This case, involving so many Member States and third States, with the common goal of stopping further cyber-attacks, shows the potential of worldwide joint actions and points the way to future common efforts. We are very pleased with the outcome."

Via PC World

TOPICS
Latest in Security
person at a computer
Many workers are overconfident at spotting phishing attacks
Data Breach
Thousands of healthcare records exposed online, including private patient information
China
Juniper patches security flaws which could have let hackers take over your router
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
GitLab has patched a host of worrying security issues
Ai tech, businessman show virtual graphic Global Internet connect Chatgpt Chat with AI, Artificial Intelligence.
AI agents can be hijacked to write and send phishing attacks
China
Volt Typhoon threat group had access to American utility networks for the best part of a year
Latest in News
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic remake developer Saber Interactive states all its projects are 'still in development'
Circular smart ring
Circular's new smart ring is getting blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring before the Apple Watch
iPad mini 2021
Huawei might have beaten Apple to the folding phone finish line by creating a foldable 'iPad mini'
Google Pixel 9 in green Wintergreen color showing AI features on screen
Multiple hands-on Google Pixel 9a videos have emerged, days ahead of the likely launch
A man getting angry with his laptop.
Windows 11 bug deletes Copilot from the OS – is this the first glitch ever some users will be happy to encounter?
Teams on iPhone and Mac
Microsoft Teams has a whole new way for you to talk to (or annoy) your co-workers