Global Cybercrime Crackdown: Interpol Seizes 22,000 IPs, Makes 41 Arrests

Interpol Takes Down More than 22,000 IP Addresses Related to Cyber Crime Operations

An IP address is one of the most important building blocks of the internet. Without it, a device or a computer will never connect to the internet which means everyone has to have it in order to get online for various reasons - even malicious intentions.

Case in point: Interpol recently announced that they have conducted operations in five locations around the world related to cybercrime activities. Specifically, Interpol conducted operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Madagascar and Estonia. Through these operations, they were able to seize gadgets such as laptops, identify and detain individuals, extract server data and take down servers related to illegal activities.

According to The Record, the police agency “worked with cybersecurity researchers at Team Cymru, Kaspersky, Group-IB and Trend Micro who traced malicious activity back to the IP addresses.” These alleged cyber criminals may have cloaked themselves in a wide variety of ways from tracking but when against industry leaders, the chances of getting away is reduced significantly.

Taking Down IP Addresses

Aside from working with various internet-security companies in tracing cybercriminals around the world, the latest global operation has also allowed Interpol to take down IP addresses associated with attacks - more than 22,000 IP addresses were allegedly owned by cybercriminals for various nefarious purposes.

This is a huge development not only in cyber security but in general security as well. As attacks online proliferate, it has proved to be damaging to individuals and to the total worldwide economy as well. Cybersecurity Ventures estimated that global cyber attacks will cost $9.5 Trillion - an extremely large sum of money with an extremely challenging road of getting most back. Removing a very important factor for cybercrimes such as an IP address is a great start in preventing these problems from getting started in the first place.

Types of Attacks

The latest operations from Interpol also indicated the common types of crime made by nefarious individuals online are the following:

Phishing - one of the oldest, yet still a very common type of attack online since this allows the attacker to gather data from the target without their knowledge. Individuals who are unfamiliar with cyber-crimes could be tricked into sharing sensitive information or allow their computers to be hacked with their financial information stolen. This could also happen to a corporate level which leads to another type of attack - info stealing.

Information Stealing - While individuals are often phished for financial information, information stealing is done more at a corporate level in order to access larger amounts of data. The danger from this type of attack stems from the ability to retrieve personal information about the company, customers and more. If the attack is successful, data could be sold online or even used against the company itself.

Ransomware - one of the most devastating attacks online because it can affect extremely vulnerable individuals. Targeted individuals, companies and institutions get locked out of their important data and could only be retrieved with the demanded payment. Important institutions such as hospitals and other essential institutions have experienced this type of attack and some have unfortunately been forced to pay.

Protecting Yourself from Attacks

You could be the next victim online if you’re not careful with your online activities and transactions. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a security expert to prevent attacks online. Updating your firewall and security software should help prevent your computer from getting attacked as most firewalls today could alert users of a suspicious IP address that tries to get your information. Using a VPN or Virtual Private Network is also a good option as it encrypts your connection that prevents attacks from tracing your real IP address.

Interpol and government agencies worldwide are always on the lookout to arrest cybercriminals. However, it’s also important to observe basic security protocols online to prevent any of these attacks from happening.