Dutch police contribute to operation taking down 300 servers used by cybercriminals

International investigation agencies took down over 300 servers globally this week, which resulted in cybercriminals being unable to reach their systems. Of these, 60 servers were in data centers in the Netherlands. International police agencies are using the long-running Operation Endgame to press on their fight against ransomware, Dutch police have stated.

By taking down the servers, several botnets were also made unavailable for use. A botnet is a network of computers that have been infected with malware, which criminals then use to commit ransomware attacks.

“It is a follow-up to the major action of May last year, in which multiple botnets were taken offline,” said Stan Duijf, head of Operations High Tech Crime of the National Investigation and Intervention Unit. “During the past week, the focus was not only on taking down botnets but also on malware aimed at gaining initial access to computer systems, such as infostealers.”

Cryptocurrencies worth 3.5 million euros were seized. This puts the total value of the cryptocurrencies seized during this operation at 21.2 million euros. It was also reported that European arrest warrants were issued against 20 suspected cyber criminals on Friday.

The European police service Europol said that Operation Endgame dealt another blow to cybercrime. A command center was established at the Europol headquarters in The Hague during the last couple of days.

Investigators from seven countries, including the Netherlands, worked from this command center. The international operation was directed and coordinated from this location.