On Monday, German police confirmed that they had successfully disrupted an international cybercrime gang known to blackmail large companies and institutions over the past several years. The German authorities stated that the cybercriminals profited millions of euros from the scheme, victims of which include Duesseldorf University Hospital. The German police worked alongside other law enforcement agencies, such as the US FBI and Europol to identify almost a dozen individuals suspected to be operating with the group for the past decade.
When Duesseldorf University Hospital was targeted by the DopppelPaymer ransomware in 2020, the healthcare center was forced to transfer some patients to nearby cities to receive treatment. One of these patients died as a result of the outages and relocations caused by the ransomware attack. The cybercrime gang specialized in targeting large organizations and was actively recruiting cybercriminals to join their efforts with the promise of paid vacations and other benefits. German police conducted simultaneous raids in Germany and Ukraine last month, seizing evidence and detaining suspects.
Read More: European Police, FBI Bust International Cybercrime Gang
