FBI, British Authorities Disrupt Notorious Ransomware Group Hacking

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with UK and EU cybercrime agencies, has disrupted the notorious Lockbit ransomware group in one of the biggest crackdowns yet.

Britain's National Crime Agency declared on Monday that the group's sites are "now under the control" of the agency as part of its "Operation Cronos."

The coalition reported to seize more than 11,000 domains affiliated to Lockbit, including its infrastructure channels and malware deployment system.

Law enforcement from at least 11 countries have participated in the operation.

A representative from Lockbit confirmed the operation's success on X (formerly Twitter), saying that the "FBI pwned me."

Lockbit is infamous for targeting mid-sized organizations across North and South America, Europe, and Asia, stealing thousands of data in the process where it holds hostage for ransom.

The group was responsible for last year's attack on a US Treasury-affiliated bank and a vendor site used by Boeing.

FBI Cracks Down on International Cyberattacks

Reports on the Lockbit disruption come in as the FBI increased its efforts to crack down on cyberattacks on state-affiliated equipment and accounts.

Just a week ago, the bureau reported blocking a suspected Russian military intelligence-backed botnet trying to penetrate US networks.

Then in January, a botnet alleged to be part of Chinese-backed hackers was also taken down after attempting to breach into US agency routers.

This is in addition to the FBI hiring AI experts for new cybersecurity operations as digital attacks are noted to become more rampant and sophisticated.

Hackers Lean Into AI for Rampant Cyberattacks

The increase in government crackdowns on international cybercriminals was prompted after reports of bad actors using AI became more common.

Microsoft, in collaboration with OpenAI, earlier reported that threat actors are now using chatbots to automate their operations or deceive unknowing victims.

Scam-related operations have also increased with the advancement in deepfake, causing the money stolen through digital crimes to dramatically increase since 2023.