From operation Endgame to Phobos, the latest European Law Enforcement actions against cybercriminal platforms and capacities

Emanuele Iovini, Specialist in the Prevention & Outreach at EC3, Cybercrime Centre, Europol

The cybercriminal threat continues to grow in volume and complexity. The international cooperation implemented by Europol has played a key role in disrupting numerous complex criminal infrastructures, including phishing-as-a-service platforms, botnets, malware distribution networks and communication encryption services for illicit activities. Seven operations coordinated by Europol this past year, selected for their relevance and diversity, will be presented, highlighting the new challenges submitted by the renewed attack methodologies of cyber criminals, as well as the sophisticated and innovative countermeasures adopted in transnational cooperation. It will start with Endgame, the largest-ever operation against botnets belonging to the malware dropper ecosystem, via the closure of the LabHost platform, operations Morpheus and Talent, the closure of the Matrix service and the forums craked.io and nulled.to, right up to the recent arrest of cyber criminals belonging to the 8base and Phobos ransomware groups. It will also be highlighted the first joint operation between Europol and Ameripol's Specialised Cybercrime Centre that allowed the dismantling of the largest phishing criminal network in Spain-Latin America. The talk will provide a holistic perspective of the battle against cybercrime conducted by Europol, highlighting the challenges, victories and lessons learnt over the past year.