No less than 14 suspected cybercriminals have been arrested and 20,674 suspicious cyber networks dismantled in operations across 25 African Countries.
The operation named Africa Cyber Surge II was launched in April 2023 by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL. It focused on identifying cybercriminals and compromised infrastructure as well as preventing, mitigating, investigating, and disrupting cyber extortion, phishing, business email compromise, and online scams.
According to a statement by INTERPOL on Friday, the networks identified were linked to financial losses of more than USD 40 million, depicting the surge in digital insecurity and cyber threats in Africa.
Operational Highlights:
In Cameroon, acting on a tip-off from Côte d’Ivoire, three suspects were arrested in relation to an online scam involving the fraudulent sale of works of art worth USD 850,000.
Authorities in Nigeria arrested a suspect accused of defrauding a Gambian victim.
Police in Mauritius arrested two money mules linked to scams initiated through messaging platforms.
In Gambia, proactive measures and strong partnerships led to the takedown of 185 Internet Protocols (IP) connected to malicious activities.
Two Darknet sites have been taken down following actions by Cameroonian authorities.
In Kenya, authorities took down 615 malware hoster.
Some 150 INTERPOL analytical reports providing intelligence and insight on cyber threats targeting specific countries were distributed to participating countries for investigative and disruptive actions during the operation.
Developed by INTERPOL based on information shared by partners Group-IB, Trend Micro, Kaspersky, and Coinbase, the reports contained information on:
3,786 malicious command and control servers
14,134 victim IPs linked to data stealer cases
1,415 phishing links and domains
939 scam IPs
More than 400 other malicious URLs, IPs, and botnets.
“The Africa Cyber Surge II operation has led to the strengthening of cybercrime departments in member countries as well as the solidification of partnerships with crucial stakeholders, such as computer emergency response teams and Internet Service Providers.
This will further contribute to reducing the global impact of cybercrime and protecting communities in the region,” INTERPOL Secretary General, Jürgen Stock, said.
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