A recent success in an investigation against cybercrime ensured this Headlines: Two suspected German cybercriminals were arrested in an internationally coordinated operation. Under the direction of the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) Frankfurt, in cooperation with the Hessian State Criminal Police Office (HLKA) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the authorities in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate executed arrest warrants against the suspects. They are accused of operating several illegal online platforms.
At the center of the investigation are the platforms “Flight RCS” and “Dstat.CC”. “Flight RCS” was a Clearnet-accessible marketplace offering synthetic drugs, specifically cannabinoids. What is particularly alarming is that these substances, which are often consumed via vape pens, are particularly common among young people and have already led to numerous cases of poisoning.
The second platform, “Dstat.CC,” offered so-called “DDoS-as-a-Service” services that enabled targeted attacks on websites and online services. These services have been used for distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that can bring down websites or servers. What is particularly worrying is that this platform also gave non-experts the opportunity to carry out such attacks. The use of such “stresser” services is increasingly being observed in the hacktivist scene.
Source: BKA
Source: BKA
As part of the investigation, a total of seven properties in Germany were searched and extensive IT infrastructure was confiscated. The operation, which is part of the international initiative “Operation PowerOff”, demonstrates the international reach of law enforcement in the fight against digital crime. Investigative authorities in France, Greece, Iceland and the USA supported the action, which once again underlines the global interconnectedness in the fight against cybercrime.
This success in the investigation is an example of the increasing pressure on the underground economy and the effective cooperation of law enforcement authorities worldwide, including in the so-called “Clearnet”, where illegal activities are also flourishing. The seized data now – once again – provides the basis for further investigations against other criminal actors and users of the platforms.
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