An operation led by the INTERPOL on Wednesday, November 25, led to the arrest of three suspected cybercriminal gang members in Nigeria whose outfit has allegedly targeted victims in more than 150 countries; including schemes that involved offering COVID-19 aid.
The operation only identified the arrested suspects by their initials, O.C., I.O. and O.I.
The sting, announced Wednesday, was part of Operation Falcon; a year-long investigation involving cybersecurity company Group-IB and the Nigeria Police Force.
“This group was running a well-established criminal business model,” said Craig Jones, Interpol’s cyber crime director.
“From infiltration to cashing in, they used a multitude of tools and techniques to generate maximum profits.”
INTERPOL further said: “The suspects are alleged to have developed phishing links, domains and mass mailing campaigns in which they impersonated representatives of organizations.
“They then used these campaigns to disseminate 26 malware programmes, spyware and remote access tools; including AgentTesla, Loki, Azorult, Spartan, as well as the nanocore and Remcos Remote Access Trojans.”
The gang, dubbed TMT, is divided into numerous subgroups; according to Vesta Matveeva, head of Group-IB’s APAC Cyber Investigations Team.
The three suspects arrested in Lagos by the INTERPOL tallied 50,000 victims in government and industry, the company said.
Matveeva said via email that TMT overall might have compromised more than 500,000 victims since 2017.
TMT’s specialty is business email compromise (BEC), where the attackers pose as someone known to an organization, most often to request authentic-looking money transfers.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded $1.7 billion in losses from BEC scams last year alone, a figure that’s based only on complaints received.
It sends purchasing orders and product inquiries, and has impersonated legitimate companies offering COVID-19 aid, Group-IB said. Also, it counts victims in the U.S., U.K., Singapore, Japan, and Nigeria, according to Group-IB data.
“While the monetization methods of this gang are still being investigated, it’s not uncommon for cybercriminals to sell account access as well as sensitive data extracted from emails could to the highest bidder in the underground markets,” Group-IB said.
Trend Micro identified TMT as a group that sells stolen credentials.
The operation only identified the arrested suspects by their initials, O.C., I.O. and O.I.
The sting, announced Wednesday, was part of Operation Falcon; a year-long investigation involving cybersecurity company Group-IB and the Nigeria Police Force.
“This group was running a well-established criminal business model,” said Craig Jones, Interpol’s cyber crime director.
“From infiltration to cashing in, they used a multitude of tools and techniques to generate maximum profits.”
INTERPOL further said: “The suspects are alleged to have developed phishing links, domains and mass mailing campaigns in which they impersonated representatives of organizations.
“They then used these campaigns to disseminate 26 malware programmes, spyware and remote access tools; including AgentTesla, Loki, Azorult, Spartan, as well as the nanocore and Remcos Remote Access Trojans.”
The gang, dubbed TMT, is divided into numerous subgroups; according to Vesta Matveeva, head of Group-IB’s APAC Cyber Investigations Team.
The three suspects arrested in Lagos by the INTERPOL tallied 50,000 victims in government and industry, the company said.
Matveeva said via email that TMT overall might have compromised more than 500,000 victims since 2017.
TMT’s specialty is business email compromise (BEC), where the attackers pose as someone known to an organization, most often to request authentic-looking money transfers.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded $1.7 billion in losses from BEC scams last year alone, a figure that’s based only on complaints received.
It sends purchasing orders and product inquiries, and has impersonated legitimate companies offering COVID-19 aid, Group-IB said. Also, it counts victims in the U.S., U.K., Singapore, Japan, and Nigeria, according to Group-IB data.
“While the monetization methods of this gang are still being investigated, it’s not uncommon for cybercriminals to sell account access as well as sensitive data extracted from emails could to the highest bidder in the underground markets,” Group-IB said.
Trend Micro identified TMT as a group that sells stolen credentials.
from 1st news....
Nigerians distinguishing themselves in cyber crimes. If you've been outside of Nigeria, you will understand this mess.
ReplyDeleteIf only they channel their smartness to legally productive ventures, I can only imagine .
ReplyDeleteAt Anon 11.01. Really? Not condoning the shit but you folks Stop pointing fingers at Nigeria because no one does this crap more than Russia and US guys and you don’t get to hear it just because their media doesn’t put much publicity on it like our bloggers and mainstream does
ReplyDeleteAnon 11.01 is right. This is such an embarrassment abroad. You literally have to hide your head every time another Nigerian is caught. Thank God for the Nigerians that excel in other areas... but this is still a stigma. And we don't care what Russia and them do...I be naija so Na naija crime abroad set affect our growth. If not naija would have commanded more respect.
Delete@11:48
DeleteSo America and Rusian guys are your Russian guys are your role models? With American passport, you can go to virtually all the countries on earth.
It is news like this that makes no country want Nigerians to visit, not even Sudan and Somalia. Be chanting Americans and Russians like mantra.
The anno is a Nigerian not a Russian or an American to know how you are been treated as that national.
DeleteSo he/she is speaking as a Nigerian abroad, and the treatment they get.
With the pandemic all dem ppl have time on their hands to dig up folks. Ain't no time to be involved in anything.
ReplyDeleteNigerians are some of the smartest ppl on the planet I don't even know why some choose this route. Writing code and building apps, creating technology nah billions you will see in legit money. They even teach writing code free online, literally free.