A bunch of worldwide regulation enforcement companies have seized the darkish net leak website of the 8base ransomware gang as a part of a takedown operation.
“This hidden site and the criminal content have been seized by the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office on behalf of the Office of the Public Prosecutor General in Bamberg,” reads a message on the gang’s darkish net leak website, which TechCrunch has seen.
Based on the seizure message, regulation enforcement companies from Europe, Japan, and the U.S. and U.Ok. had been concerned within the takedown operation.
Lucy Sneddon, a spokesperson for the U.Ok.’s Nationwide Crime Company (NCA), confirmed the legitimacy of the takedown message in an e-mail to TechCrunch. The U.Ok. performed a “supportive role” within the operation, the U.Ok. company stated.
Representatives from the opposite regulation enforcement companies concerned within the takedown didn’t instantly reply to TechCrunch’s questions.
Safety researchers first observed the seizure discover on Monday.
8base is a financially-motivated hacking group first noticed in 2022. The group, which safety consultants have linked to the RansomHouse extortion group, is understood for using double-extortion techniques, the place criminals encrypt after which threaten to reveal delicate data if the sufferer doesn’t pay a ransom demand.
In 2023, the U.S. authorities warned that the 8base gang targeted its “indiscriminate targeting” on a number of sectors primarily throughout the USA, together with healthcare. The gang additionally claimed duty for a cyberattack on the United Nations Improvement Programme final 12 months.
In a message on its darkish net leak website previous to this week’s takedown, 8base described itself as “honest and simple pentesters.” Very similar to the prolific Clop ransomware gang, 8base claimed to solely goal organizations which have “neglected the privacy and importance of the data of their employees and customers.”
8base has been identified to make use of numerous strains of ransomware in its assaults, together with Phobos. The U.S. authorities final 12 months secured the extradition of an alleged Russian hacker who allegedly served as a key administrator of the prolific Phobos ransomware operation.
