A group of international hackers known to have attacked various institutions, like Capcom, across the years, is finally put to justice, thanks to the efforts of the international police force, according to Europol.
In a report published on October 20, 2023, the government agency identified the hacking group as Ragnar Locker, which it claims to have been put down because of the team effort of multiple countries. Namely, “Czechia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States of America”.
The ransomware group is credited for committing multiple cases of cyberattacks over many years, such as, most recently, the cybercrime on a “Portuguese national carrier and a hospital in Israel.” Ragnar Locker, however, was put on the map with the November 2020 attack against the Japanese game company Capcom.
Compromised data
The attack on Capcom subsequently resulted in the breach of sensitive information regarding their employees. In particular, the personal and corporate information concerning past and present employees, developer documents, and financial details and sales reports. The gang, meanwhile, claimed to have stolen 1TB worth of data, translating to the pool of sensitive data of some 390,000 individuals.
In the span of four days, from October 16 to October 20, the collaborative efforts of Czechia, Latvia, Spain, and others led to the arrest of a “key target” in Paris. He was brought to the Paris Judicial Court and his home in Czechia was searched, leading to the discovery of the group’s infrastructure. Consequently, the drive also led to the interview of five other suspects in Latvia and Spain.
Apart from calling their group the titular name Ragnar Locker, the same label is also used for the tool that the team uses to perpetrate their scheme. Specifically, the malware that they use to infiltrate other devices. Likewise, the group’s website, where leaks are posted, is also called by the same name.
