Malware targeting millions of people taken down by international coalition

BRUSSELS: A global operation, supported by Eurojust, has led to the takedown of servers of infostealers, a type of malware used to steal personal data and conduct cybercrimes worldwide. The infostealers, RedLine and META, taken down today targeted millions of victims worldwide, making it one of the largest malware platforms globally. An international coalition of authorities from the Netherlands, the United States, Belgium, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Australia shut down three servers in the Netherlands, seized two domains, unsealed charges in the United States and took two people into custody in Belgium. RedLine and Meta were able to steal personal data from infected devices. The data included saved usernames and passwords, and automatically saved form data, such as addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, cryptocurrency wallets, and cookies. After retrieving the personal data, the infostealers sold the information to other criminals through criminal market places. The criminals who purchased the p ersonal data used it to steal money, cryptocurrency and to carry out follow-on hacking activities. Investigations into RedLine and Meta started after victims came forward and a security company notified authorities about possible servers in the Netherlands linked to the software. Authorities discovered that over 1,200 servers in dozens of countries were running the malware. To take down the transnational malware, Eurojust coordinated cooperation between authorities from the Netherlands, the United States, Belgium, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Australia. Through Eurojust, authorities were able to quickly exchange information and coordinate actions to take down the infostealers. The takedown of the infostealers took place on 28 October during a worldwide operation. Source: Emirates News Agency