European law enforcement infiltrated a VPN service used to conceal ransomware attacks, data theft, and other serious offenses. The operation targeted First VPN, which had been promoted on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums as a trusted tool for staying beyond law enforcement reach. Investigators gained access to the service, obtained its user database, and identified VPN connections used by criminals. The intelligence gathered exposed thousands of users linked to the criminal ecosystem and produced leads tied to ransomware, fraud schemes, and other offenses worldwide. Police accessed criminal traffic from users who mistakenly believed they were safe. The VPN domain was seized, the service was shut down, and its administrator was arrested with support from Europol and Eurojust.
"A VPN service used by cybercriminals to conceal ransomware attacks, data theft, and other serious offenses has been dismantled in an international operation led by France and the Netherlands, with support from Europol and Eurojust. For years, the service, known as 'First VPN,' was promoted on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums as a trusted tool for remaining beyond the reach of law enforcement. It offered users anonymous payments, hidden infrastructure, and services designed specifically for criminal use."
"At some point, "investigators gained access to the service, obtained its user database and identified VPN connections used by cybercriminals seeking to conceal their activities," Europol said. Security vendor Bitdefender helped law enforcement conduct the operation, Europol said. The gathered intelligence exposed thousands of users linked to the cybercrime ecosystem and generated operational leads connected to ransomware attacks, fraud schemes, and other serious offenses worldwide, according to Europol."
"European law enforcement say they hacked into a VPN (virtual private network) service used for ransomware attacks and other crimes, and identified thousands of users before shutting the VPN down and arresting its administrator. Europol announced yesterday the results of the operation against the service, First VPN. The First VPN website now displays a message saying the domain was seized by a joint international law enforcement action."
"A statement from the Dutch National Police Corps said that before the domain seizures, "police had access to the criminal traffic of the users of the service, who mistakenly believed themselves to be safe." An Internet Archive capture of the now-defunct VPN service's website shows it adv"
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