Dutch and French police, with Europol, took the VPN service First VPN offline after a five-year investigation. Servers across 27 countries were shut down, and the Ukrainian administrator was arrested and questioned. First VPN was promoted on hacker forums and marketed as providing complete anonymity, including anonymous payment options. Europol obtained access to the user database, enabling identification of thousands of users. At least 25 ransomware groups used the service, according to the FBI. The database provided concrete leads for further investigations into ransomware attacks, fraud, and other serious crimes. The operation followed earlier Dutch efforts, including the 2021 takedown of DoubleVPN.
"On May 19 and 20, the criminal VPN service First VPN was taken offline by the Dutch police's High Tech Crime Team, in collaboration with the French police and Europol. The investigation lasted five years. Servers in 27 countries have been shut down, and the Ukrainian administrator has been arrested."
"First VPN explicitly targeted cybercriminals. The administrator promoted the service on hacker forums and promised complete anonymity, including anonymous payment options. "We only store emails and usernames, but it is impossible to link a user's online activity to a specific user of our service," First VPN stated in a post on a hacker forum. Those promises proved untenable."
"Europol gained access to the user database, allowing thousands of users to be identified. According to the FBI, at least 25 ransomware groups used the service. The data from the database provided law enforcement agencies with concrete leads for further investigation into ransomware attacks, fraudulent practices, and other serious crimes."
"In addition to anonymity, the service also offered specific features aimed at criminals, such as anonymous payments, which set it apart from regular VPN providers. This is not the first time the Dutch police have contributed to taking down a VPN service. In 2021, Team High Tech Crime also took DoubleVPN offline, again in an international operation with Europol and the FBI."
Read at Techzine Global
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