Police in Germany and Ukraine have arrested suspected key members of the DoppelPaymer ransomware gang, Europol announced today.
The operation, which took place on February 28 and was supported by Europol, Dutch police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), arrested one suspect in Germany and one in Ukraine.
Police in both countries said they had seized the electronic devices and were now conducting forensic examinations.
“On the day of action, Europol sent three experts to Germany to collate operational information against Europol’s database and provide further operational analysis, crypto tracing and forensic support.”
Europol added that analysis of data obtained through the operation is expected to provoke other investigative efforts, along with other related cases.
“Europol also set up a virtual command post to connect investigators and experts from Europol, Germany, Ukraine, the Netherlands and the United States in real time and coordinate activities during raids.”
According to HighGround.io CEO Mark Lamb, the operation represents another influential collaboration from law enforcement to take on a prominent ransomware gang. It comes weeks after a similar task force arrested several members of his Hive ransomware gang.
“DoppelPaymer has been wreaking havoc and costing organizations millions of dollars for over three years. We relied on two malware variants, Emotet and Dridex,” Lamb explained, commenting on the news.
Executives also agree with Europol’s assertion that the operation is likely to lead to further arrests.
“Because DoppelPaymer is ransomware-as-a-service, there may be more perpetrators behind the threat before we say goodbye to ransomware once and for all.”
“But the seized infrastructure should provide law enforcement with more information, and others behind the threat could soon face the toughest hands of the law.”
In another law enforcement effort, an international team was recently behind the dismantling of a criminal network that caused millions of dollars in business email compromise (BEC) losses.
