- 8Base Ransomware Group has been seized by the Police
- Four have been arrested as part of the demolition
- United States and Switzerland can press for extradition
A joint operation of law application groups in the United States, Europe and Asia, has seized the infamous escape site of the 8Base Ransomware Network as part of a demolition operation that saw four arrested suspects.
The site has now been closed, and the visitors of the site meet a message that notifies users that the “criminal content” and the site have been “seized by the Criminal Police Office of the Bavarian State.”
The four European suspects were arrested in Phuket, Thailand, with the charges against them include conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and conspiracy to commit a crime against the United States. According to reports, the Swiss authorities have requested the extradition of the suspects.
OPERATION PHOBOS ATOR
The arrests were part of the ‘Operation Phobos Aotor’, and the 8Base has previously been observed using a ‘tailored version of the pHobos ransomware’ in an attack in which the data of the United Nations were torn from IT systems.
Since the group’s debut in early 2022, 8Base has committed to high profile objectives, such as the NIDEC Corporation, which had more than 50,000 stolen files, a “large amount” of them confidential, in a cyber attack at the end of 2024 .
“The strains of Ransomware Phobos and 8Base had a significant impact on the United Kingdom, with the police providing support for more than 200 victims,” said Paul Foster, head of the National Cyber Crime Unit of the United Kingdom. Techradar Pro.
“As a result of the intelligence obtained during the investigation, the NCA and our police members could prevent a series of companies being attacked by these ransomware strains to succumb to encryption and become victims, therefore, mitigate the devastating impact that would have There has been an attack. About their companies. “
Ransomware attacks have recently shot new maximums and have a great threat to companies, which cost organizations an average of more than $ 45,000, but often reach millions for large companies.
This despite the investigation that reveals that only about 30% of ransomware attacks really result in payment, but $ 813.55 million have been paid for ransomware victims in 2024, below $ 1.25 billion in 2023 .
Like all types of cyber crimes, the landscape is quickly evolving, but so is the application of the law. Groups like Lockbit have suffered great interruptions in recent years and have fought to recover, so the game of cats and mice among criminals and cybersecurity agencies continues.
