Cybercrime Hit: VPN for Criminals Dismantled

An international law enforcement operation has successfully dismantled First VPN, a virtual private network service widely used by cybercriminals. The FBI reported that at least 25 ransomware gangs relied on First VPN to conceal their illicit operations. This included activities such as scanning the internet for vulnerabilities, managing botnets, launching distributed denial-of-service attacks, and executing scams.

First VPN operated servers across 27 countries and was specifically marketed to cybercriminals. Europol highlighted that the service offered anonymous connections, payments, and hidden infrastructure, becoming deeply embedded in the cybercrime ecosystem. The VPN advertised on various cybercrime forums, promising users anonymity and claiming not to store logs beyond email and usernames.

However, investigators obtained First VPN's user database, exposing thousands of individuals connected to criminal activities. The administrator of First VPN has been arrested, and numerous servers have been dismantled as a result of this investigation, which commenced in December 2021. Users of the service were notified of the shutdown and informed that their identities had been compromised.