International law enforcement agencies hit NetWalker ransomware distribution scheme

Law enforcement agencies in several countries have banded together against a ransomware application called NetWalker. The US Department of Justice announcement reveals that this ransomware attacked the computer systems of schools, hospitals, companies, government agencies and emergency services. During the coronavirus pandemic, attacks were carried out on the health sector in order to capitalize on this during the global crisis.

NetWalker uses the ransomware-as-a-service model. An application is created and updated by some people, and is used for attacks by others. For weeks, attackers worked to infiltrate victims’ computer systems before sending out a ransom note.

The Bulgarian authorities gained control of a darknet site that was used to inform victims about the payment scheme. Canadian citizen Sebastian Vashon-Desjardins indicted in Florida court. He is accused of receiving more than $ 27.6 million in ransom while using NetWalker. On January 10, the authorities seized a cryptocurrency worth $ 454,530.19. This is what three victims of the NetWalker ransomware paid.

This is only a small fraction of the ransom money received. Since August 2019, the ransom has been at least $ 46 million. Victims are encouraged to contact the police as early as possible.

The announcement was made on the same day that Europol announced the takeover of the Emotet botnet infrastructure. Thus, all victims of online criminals receive hope that justice will eventually be restored.