Europol Shuts Down VPN Service Used by Ransomware Groups

Law enforcement authorities from 10 countries took down VPNLab.net, a VPN service provider used by ransomware operators and malware actors.

The disruptive joint action was coordinated by Europol and took place on January 17, 2022. It involved simultaneous law enforcement actions in Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Latvia, Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

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The law operatives seized 15 servers used by the VPNLab.net service and took down its main site, so the platform is no longer available.

Law enforcement authorities from 10 countries took down VPNLab.net, a VPN service provider used by ransomware operators and malware actors.

The disruptive joint action was coordinated by Europol and took place on January 17, 2022. It involved simultaneous law enforcement actions in Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Latvia, Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

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The law operatives seized 15 servers used by the VPNLab.net service and took down its main site, so the platform is no longer available.

The owners and operators of VPNLab.net haven’t been identified, charged, or arrested yet. However, the law enforcement claims to hold valuable evidence on that front now, a result of the servers’ seizure.

Moreover, customer data stored within them will also be scrutinized, so the police will likely identify more ransomware affiliates.

In December 2020, Europol coordinated another similar take-down action against Safe-Inet and Insorg VPN, two service providers known for catering to cybercriminal activity.