Kaspersky has contributed to the fight against transnational cybercrime by taking part in operation Synergia, involving INTERPOL and its Gateway project partners — an initiative promoting collective efforts of national law enforcement and private sector organizations in combating ever-evolving cyberthreats. The operation – spanning more than 50 INTERPOL member states – focused on the disruption of malicious infrastructure involved in phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks.
During the three-month operation (September-November 2023), INTERPOL coordinated cyber intelligence exchanges between law enforcement agencies from member states and private partners, resulting in the production of more than 60 Cyber Activity Reports. Kaspersky supported the operation by sharing data on malicious infrastructure identified worldwide, including globally-sourced threat data from Kaspersky Threat Intelligence, which is continuously updated by the company’s world-class experts.
Some 1,300 suspicious servers relating to various cybercrimes have been identified as part of the joint effort. As a result, investigators were able to take actions on 70% of those malicious servers and also apprehend suspected perpetrators across multiple states.
Operation Synergia highlights:
- Authorities detained 31 individuals and identified an additional 70 suspects.
- Most of the C2 servers taken down were in Europe, where 26 people were arrested.
- Hong Kong and Singapore Police took down 153 and 86 servers, respectively.
- South Sudan and Zimbabwe reported the most takedowns on the African continent, arresting four suspects.
- Bolivia mobilized a range of public authorities to identify malware and resulting vulnerabilities.
- Kuwait worked closely with internet service providers to identify victims, conduct field investigations, and also offer technical guidance to mitigate impacts.
Bernardo Pillot, Assistant Director to INTERPOL Cybercrime Directorate, said: “The results of this operation, achieved through the collective efforts of multiple countries and partners, show our unwavering commitment to safeguarding the digital space. By dismantling the infrastructure behind phishing, banking malware, and ransomware attacks, we are one step closer to protecting our digital ecosystems and a safer, more secure online experience for all.”
“Kaspersky has been an active contributor to INTERPOL’s operations, which have proved themselves as an effective instrument for taking down cross-border cyber offences,” comments Yuliya Shlychkova, Vice-President of Public Affairs at Kaspersky. “While Kaspersky has data, knowledge and technologies to track a wide range of cybercrime operations worldwide, international law enforcement agencies like INTERPOL possess legal authority and resources to further investigate and prosecute cybercriminals. Promoting a more comprehensive and holistic response to crime, our partnership strengthens overall security efforts and enables timely reactions and proactive measures to safeguard individuals, businesses, and society as a whole.”
The data sharing exchange between Kaspersky and INTERPOL is part of a cooperation agreement, signed by both parties in 2019, which also provides for delivering human resources support and training to the law enforcement agency. Since the document was signed, Kaspersky and INTERPOL have maintained a positive momentum of joint operations aimed at combating cybercrime and awareness-raising projects to help people become more aware of modern-day cyber risks.
Kaspersky Threat Intelligence
https://www.kaspersky.com/enterprise-security/threat-intelligence
