The ‘dark web’ website of LockBit, the ransomware gang that caused so much disruption in the moving industry last year when it hacked into SIRVA’s data, has been taken down by international law enforcement. It is believed to have been the target of an ongoing operation from the UK’s National Crime Agency working closely with the FBI. The announcement was made on 19 February with the website showing a notice confirming that the site was under the control of the Agency.
For some years LockBit had hacked into companies’ systems, stolen data and then tried to ransom it back to them threatening to make the data public if they did not pay. This is exactly what happened to SIRVA in September 2023.
It is expected that this will make a significant difference to the number of cyber attacks in the near future. Although it’s unlikely that the action will be limited to just taking down the website, as LockBit’s operations are believed to be based in Russia it is unlikely that arrests will be made.