Ukrainian police have raided the headquarters of the Cl0p ransomware gang. They have seized computer hardware used in their operations along with the equivalent of $ 184.000, which was probably paid for with ransomware ransom money.
According to Cybernews, the group has attacked several high-profile economic targets in the past, primarily in the United States and South Korea. Among them were the Stanford University School of Medicine, the University of Maryland, and the University of California.
Ukraine detains a team dedicated to large-scale ransomware
The Cl0p group was also reportedly adept at running a ransomware-as-a-service operation and had collaborated with other cybercriminal groups. They did it especially when they were pursuing bigger targets like the oil giant Shell and the American Flagstar Bank. The Ukrainian police reportedly stated that the suspects they gathered during the raids were using the Cl0p ransomware, although they did not reveal whether they were members or just affiliates of the gang.
Ransomware attacks have long been a threat to any large-scale network, although the frequency of attacks has arguably increased during the pandemic as companies relax protections on their corporate networks to facilitate remote work. That happened with the developers of Cyberpunk 2077, who saw their developers unable to access their virtual posts due to an attack and had to delay the release of a large patch months ago.
In response to this arrest, the CTO of cybersecurity company Vectra AI claimed that such police actions may eventually help shrink the ransomware ecosystem, as the increased likelihood of repercussions will discourage criminals from the ransomware business. It claims that if there are periodic disruptions to the ransomware supply chain and ransomware is claimed, the ransomware business itself becomes less lucrative and fewer people get involved in it.
Source: TechRadar
