Interpol Taken Down 6 Ransomware Variants and Arrested 500+ Suspects
Law enforcement agencies from 19 African countries have executed a significant operation against cybercrime, resulting in the arrest of 574 suspects and the dismantling of six ransomware variants during Operation Sentinel . This coordinated effort…
Law enforcement agencies from 19 African countries have executed a significant operation against cybercrime, resulting in the arrest of 574 suspects and the dismantling of six ransomware variants during Operation Sentinel . This coordinated effort spanned from October 27 to November 27.
The operation focused on three major threats: business email compromise (BEC), digital extortion, and ransomware. Authorities disabled over 6,000 malicious links and recovered approximately USD 3 million in illicit funds. The cases investigated involved estimated losses exceeding USD 21 million.
In Senegal, a petroleum company was targeted by a BEC scheme that attempted a USD 7.9 million wire transfer. The authorities successfully froze the destination accounts to halt the transaction. Ghana faced a ransomware attack on a financial institution, encrypting 100 terabytes of data and stealing approximately USD 120,000. Authorities developed a decryption tool, recovering nearly 30 terabytes of data and arresting multiple suspects. A cyber-fraud network across Ghana and Nigeria deceived over 200 victims of USD 400,000. Ten suspects were arrested, and 30 fraudulent servers were shut down. In Benin, 43 malicious domains and 4,318 social media accounts linked to extortion schemes were disabled, leading to 106 arrests. Cameroon's police stopped a phishing campaign related to a vehicle sales platform and issued an emergency bank freeze.
Law enforcement agencies from 19 African countries have executed a significant operation against cybercrime, resulting in the arrest of 574 suspects and the dismantling of six ransomware variants during Operation Sentinel .
Operation Sentinel was supported by private-sector leaders, including Team Cymru, The Shadowserver Foundation , Trend Micro, TRM Labs, and Uppsala Security. Their technical support was crucial in tracing attack origins and freezing illicit assets. The operation received additional support from the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office as part of the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC) initiative.
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Based on reporting by Cyber Security News.
