International Police Detains Criminal Group That Hacked Capcom

During the pandemic, cyberattacks exposed how vulnerable companies are in terms of cybersecurity. One such company was Capcom, but fortunately, the main responsible for the Ragnar Locker criminal group is now in the hands of justice.

Like any other ransomware group, Ragnar Locker targeted devices with the Microsoft Windows operating system to remotely access confidential information from companies or organizations, extract it, and demand money in exchange for not leaking it or offering it to the highest bidder.

This was the case with Capcom, which was breached in 2020. After refusing to pay $11 million for the stolen information, it was leaked, revealing the company's confidential projects at that time, as well as more financial information about those projects.

International Police Arrests Hackers Who Attacked Capcom

The criminal group had been operating since December 2019 and affected various organizations and companies, including ADATA and Capcom. Their most recent crimes affected Portugal and a hospital in Israel. Their impact was such that they were considered "one of the most dangerous operations in recent years."

Justice was slow but finally arrived. Four years later, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), responsible for coordinating operations against criminal organizations and terrorists within the European Union, announced the arrest of the criminal group.

The operation was an international effort by Europol and Eurojust, involving 11 countries. The operation took place between October 16 and 20. Following investigations conducted in the Czech Republic, Spain, and Latvia, the "main target" was located, apprehended, and arrested in Paris, France. Once in the hands of the law, the individual, the presumed developer of the ransomware group, was made available to the Paris Judicial Court.

Furthermore, the agency located the group's infrastructure in the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden.

Originally, action was taken in 2021 when there were arrests in Ukraine. The complete investigation involved authorities from France, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States.

What are your thoughts on the arrest of the ransomware group? Let us know in the comments.