Learn all about the international operation against cybercrime.
A joint operation between Interpol and Afripol, conducted in 25 African countries over a four-month period, resulted in the arrest of 14 suspects and the identification of more than 20,000 suspicious networks linked to losses of more than $40 million.
The operation is aimed at stopping cyber extortion, phishing, corporate email fraud and other online scams that have recently gained momentum in the region. It is officially estimated that the arrested individuals and neutralized networks caused losses of approximately $40 million.
In Cameroon, for example, three suspected cybercriminals were arrested in connection with the fraudulent sale of $850,000 worth of art. In addition, Cameroonian authorities have blocked two darknet sites.
The police relied on information from their private partners, such as well-known companies Group-IB and Trend Micro, who shared their reports with law enforcement agencies. They contained information about:
The first Africa Cyber Surge operation, conducted between July and November 2022, included 10 arrests related to various scams and an alleged fraud of about $ 800,000, the closure of the Eritrean darknet market trading in hacking tools, and "actions taken against over 200,000 pieces of malicious infrastructure that contributed to cybercrime in the United States." Africa," Singapore-based Group-IB said in a statement.
This operation was an important step in the fight against cybercrime in Africa, and its success highlighted the importance of international cooperation in this area.
A joint operation between Interpol and Afripol, conducted in 25 African countries over a four-month period, resulted in the arrest of 14 suspects and the identification of more than 20,000 suspicious networks linked to losses of more than $40 million.
The operation is aimed at stopping cyber extortion, phishing, corporate email fraud and other online scams that have recently gained momentum in the region. It is officially estimated that the arrested individuals and neutralized networks caused losses of approximately $40 million.
In Cameroon, for example, three suspected cybercriminals were arrested in connection with the fraudulent sale of $850,000 worth of art. In addition, Cameroonian authorities have blocked two darknet sites.
The police relied on information from their private partners, such as well-known companies Group-IB and Trend Micro, who shared their reports with law enforcement agencies. They contained information about:
- 3,786 malicious management servers;
- 14,134 IP addresses of victims associated with data theft;
- 1,415 phishing links and domains;
- 939 fraudulent IP addresses;
- More than 400 other malicious URLs, IP addresses, and botnets.
The first Africa Cyber Surge operation, conducted between July and November 2022, included 10 arrests related to various scams and an alleged fraud of about $ 800,000, the closure of the Eritrean darknet market trading in hacking tools, and "actions taken against over 200,000 pieces of malicious infrastructure that contributed to cybercrime in the United States." Africa," Singapore-based Group-IB said in a statement.
This operation was an important step in the fight against cybercrime in Africa, and its success highlighted the importance of international cooperation in this area.
