Police take down VPN service used by cybercriminals (2024)
Police in Germany and nine other countries on Tuesday said they have taken down VPNLab.net, an online privacy service they said was used to help cybercriminals spread ransomware.
Led by the Hanover police department in Germany, authorities in the Netherlands, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Latvia, Ukraine, the U.S. and U.K. all coordinated operations on Monday against VPNLab.net, seizing 15 servers.
Europol said the service was "a popular choice for cybercriminals, who could use its services to carry on committing their crimes without fear of detection by authorities."
A VPN, or virtual private network, allows internet users to browse the web while keeping their identities and locations hidden. The technology is widely used, including by companies to set up corporate home-working networks, and it is popular among ordinary users to protect things like online search histories, location tracking from government surveillance, online advertising and bypassing geoblocking restrictions for streaming services.
"Multiple investigations uncovered criminals using the VPNLab.net service to facilitate illicit activities such as malware distribution" including ransomware, Europol said, adding that the VPN also advertized its services on dark web forums.
Europol's main objective is to improve the effectiveness and cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the EU member states. To achieve this, Europol facilitates the exchange of information and intelligence, provides analytical support, and offers specialized training and expertise.
says the service was 'a popular choice for cybercriminals. ' Police in Germany and nine other countries on Tuesday said they have taken down VPNLab.net, an online privacy service they said was used to help cybercriminals spread ransomware.
The good news is that there is almost no way to track live, encrypted VPN traffic. Law enforcement can only obtain data, if available, about websites visited and so on. Otherwise, hackers and snooping government agencies are generally blocked by the fact that the data is encrypted.
Police in India cannot directly track encrypted VPN traffic. However, the Indian government has implemented data storage regulations requiring VPN providers with servers located in India to store user information for five years. This information could include usernames, IP addresses, usage patterns, and more.
Can police track online purchases made with a VPN? There is no way to track live, encrypted VPN traffic. That's why police or government agencies who need information about websites you visited have to contact your internet service provider (ISP for short), and only then your VPN provider.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies cannot track encrypted VPN traffic, even if they have a court order. However, they may force your internet service provider (ISP) to disclose your connection and usage logs, which will show that you use a VPN.
One of the most common ways police can track VPN usage is through court orders. With a court order in hand, the police can approach ISPs to obtain connection or usage logs of specific individuals.
You can't be tracked using a VPN because it encrypts your data. As a result, your ISP or bad actors can't get any information out of your traffic. They only see the VPN server's IP address (e.g. if you're connected to a US server, the US IP address is visible), while your real IP and online activities stay hidden.
IP Address Masquerading: Hackers frequently leverage VPN services to mask their actual IP addresses, disguising their geographical location and evading tracking measures set by cyber forensics teams.
You can't be tracked using a VPN because it encrypts your data. As a result, your ISP or bad actors can't get any information out of your traffic. They only see the VPN server's IP address (e.g. if you're connected to a US server, the US IP address is visible), while your real IP and online activities stay hidden.
OpenVPN is widely recognized for its strong encryption and ability to obfuscate VPN traffic, making it difficult for censors to detect and block. By obfuscating VPN traffic, OpenVPN can disguise it as regular HTTPS traffic, effectively bypassing censorship measures.
The long and short of it is that, yes, law enforcement can track IP addresses to help them solve cybercrimes. However, it generally takes more than IP data to prove criminal activity.
From day one of our operations, we have never provided any customer data to law enforcement, nor have we ever received a binding court order to log user data. We never, for a second, logged user VPN traffic, and the results of multiple audits prove that we are true to our policies.
Introduction: My name is Neely Ledner, I am a bright, determined, beautiful, adventurous, adventurous, spotless, calm person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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