Ukrainian Police Arrest Father-Child Related To Cyber Crime Gang Lockbit

Illustration of threatening Lockbit with ransomware. (photo: dock. special)

JAKARTA The Ukrainian police announced on Wednesday, February 21, that they had arrested father and son who were part of the Cyber Crime Gang Lockbit, which was disrupted by international law enforcement operations led by the United Kingdom and FBI National Criminal Agency earlier this week.

The father and son, whose name was not disclosed by the police, are wanted for carrying out attacks using malicious software used to digitally extorte victims against "state companies, institutions, and health institutions in France," the Ukrainian National Police said in a statement.

"Investigators conducted a number of searches at the residences of hackers in Ternopil, where cell phones and computer equipment used in illegal activities were seized," the statement said, referring to a city in western Ukraine.

On Tuesday, February 20, the NCA, the FBI, the US Department of Justice, and Europol announced that joint law enforcement operations dubbed "Operation Cronos" have disrupted Lockbit's core activity, one of the world's most destructive Cybercrime organizations.

The United States has accused two Russian nationals of using Lockbit ransomware tools to attack companies and groups around the world. Police in Poland and Ukraine made two arrests, the police agency said in a statement.

As a result of arrests in Ukraine, law enforcement can confiscate more than 200 cryptocurrency accounts and 34 servers used by these gangs in the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, France, Switzerland, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

"This allows to block the activity of major hacking platforms and other critical criminal infrastructure," the Ukrainian Police added.

Prior to being confiscated by police, Lockbit was able to exploit several victims of the hack simultaneously through its website, which includes the names of companies and organizations hacked in addition to the recoil counter which, when it reaches zero, will release victim data unless they pay the ransom.

Cronos' operations are unique because the police agency, after controlling the Lockbit website, used Lockbit's own digital platform to leak data about the work mechanism in the secret gang.

FRENCH CONNECTION

Ukrainian police said investigations and arrests were carried out after a request from France.

According to a French public prosecutor's statement on Tuesday, France began investigating Lockbit in 2020 and became home to more than 200 gang victims, including hospitals, city halls, and businesses across the country. In January 2022, Lockbit claimed on its leaked site had hacked the French justice ministry.

On Wednesday, police in Poland identified a member of the Lockbit gang who was arrested there as a 38-year-old man in Warsaw. As in Ukraine, the arrests were made with members of a special cyber unit from French police, according to statements and photos published by police.

According to a statement from French police, it was also published on Wednesday that "Operation Cronos" duty forces were formed under Europol following calls from French investigators.