Interpol shuts down 22,000 IP addresses

[German]Law enforcement agencies around Interpol have shut down a total of 22,000 devices using IP addresses associated with cybercrime in a joint operation. Operation Synergia II (April 1 – August 31, 2024) specifically targeted phishing, ransomware and information theft sites and was a joint effort between INTERPOL, private sector partners and law enforcement agencies from 95 INTERPOL member countries.

According to this announcement from Interpol, 76 percent of approximately 30,000 identified suspicious IP addresses were shut down and 59 servers were seized. In addition, 43 electronic devices, including laptops, cell phones and hard drives, were confiscated.

The operation also led to the arrest of 41 people, with 65 others still under investigation. In Operation Synergia II, INTERPOL worked closely with its partners Group-IB, Trend Micro, Kaspersky and Team Cymru, using their expertise in tracking illegal cyber activity to identify thousands of malicious servers.

INTERPOL shared this information with participating law enforcement agencies, who conducted preliminary investigations that led to a series of coordinated actions, including house searches, the disruption of malicious cyber activity and the lawful seizure of servers and electronic devices. The following countries were involved in the operation:

• Hong Kong (China):Police supported the operation by taking down more than 1,037 servers linked to malicious services.
• Mongolia: The investigation included 21 house searches, the seizure of a server and the identification of 93 individuals with links to illegal cyber activities.
• Macau (China): The police took 291 servers offline.
• Madagascar: Authorities identified 11 individuals with links to malicious servers and seized 11 electronic devices for further investigation.
• Estonia: Police seized more than 80 GB of server data. The authorities are now working with INTERPOL to conduct further analysis of the data linked to phishing and banking malware.

Neal Jetton, Director of INTERPOL's Cybercrime Directorate, said: "The global nature of cybercrime requires a global response, as demonstrated by the support of member countries in Operation Synergia II. Together we have not only disrupted malicious infrastructures but also saved hundreds of thousands of potential victims from becoming victims of cybercrime. INTERPOL is proud to bring together a diverse team of member countries to combat this ever-evolving threat and make our world a safer place."