On Tuesday, INTERPOL disclosed the dismantling of more than 22,000 malicious servers associated with various cyber threats in a worldwide crackdown.
The operation known as Synergia II was conducted from the 1st of April to the 31st of August, 2024, specifically aimed at dismantling phishing, ransomware, and data theft networks.
“Out of the roughly 30,000 suspicious IP addresses that were identified, 76% were taken offline and 59 servers were confiscated,” according to a statement from INTERPOL. “Furthermore, 43 electronic devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, and hard drives were impounded.”
The crackdown resulted in the apprehension of 41 persons, while investigations into 65 others are still ongoing. Notable outcomes in various regions include –
- Hong Kong police shutting down more than 1,037 servers
- Mongolian authorities seizing a server and identifying 93 individuals linked to unlawful cyber operations
- Disruption of 291 servers in Macau
- Madagascar identifying 11 individuals associated with malicious servers and seizing 11 electronic devices
- Estonia impounding over 80GB of data
Team Cymru’s chief evangelist, David Monnier, stated that their contribution involved “identifying and classifying malicious infrastructure” after conducting extensive analyses.
The initial phase of Synergia occurred between September and November 2023, leading to 31 arrests and the detection of 1,300 suspicious IP addresses and URLs utilized for phishing, banking malware, and ransomware assaults.
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