There is now full police control over the ransomware network LockBit after a joint operation to take control was successful.
The National UK Crime Agency said that the website was taken away from LockBit as part of an international effort. There is a message on the website that says, “This site is now under the control of the National Crime Agency of the UK, working in close cooperation with the FBI and the international law enforcement task force Operation Cronos.” The website has been taken down.
A group of foreign police agencies, such as the FBI, Europol, and NCA, worked together on the operation. The group has said they will use the technology in a different way to find out how the crime gang behind LockBit works. Europol says that two LockBit players were caught in Ukraine and Poland, and two more are being charged in the US.
The government has taken over LockBit’s main website and the hardware that runs their most important technologies.
“We have hacked the hackers; taken control of their infrastructure, seized their source code, and obtained keys that will help victims decrypt their systems,” said Graeme Biggar, Director General of the NCA.
Ransomware encrypts files on a computer and then asks for money to give the owner an access key that will delete all copies of the files. One of the pieces of information that the NCA found, though, came from victims who had paid the cash but still kept their data.
The home secretary, James Cleverly, said, “The NCA’s world-class expertise has dealt the people behind the most widespread ransomware strain a major blow.” He went on to say, “The criminals behind LockBit are very smart and well-organized, but they have not been able to get away from UK police and our international partners.”
