Europol Head of Operations discusses dismantling of LockBit

Journalist Bogdan Bodnar took advantage of the 2024 InCyber Forum to sit down with General Lecouffe, Europol’s head of operations. In an interview published in Numerama on March 28, 2024, he discusses the cyber facet of the European police agency’s work. Indeed, Europol took part in dismantling Hive’s infrastructure in January of 2023, QuackBot in August of 2023, Ragnar Locker in October 2023, and LockBit, in February 2024. 

In regard to the latest operation, General Lecouffe recognizes they used LockBit’s display website to publish “press releases on the arrests, and the seizure of servers.” The website hack had “already significantly affected their image,” but the hijack aimed to drive the point home. “Even though LockBit is claiming to get back on its feet, we know their image has suffered a blow in the community,” exposes the Europol head of operations. 

General Lecouffe also reminds us that the fight against ransomware does not exclusively target specialized gangs, but “the whole cybercrime chain that makes it possible to launch attacks and keeps this industry going: resale forums, crypto mixers that hide the source of cryptocurrencies, botnets that send phishing messages…”

According to him, the attack against Colonial Pipeline in 2021 helped trigger international awareness of the dangers of ransomware. Western countries armed themselves with new legislation better suited to threats, and decided to come together and coordinate their efforts. The raids in recent months are the result of this process.
Moreover, General Lecouffe recognizes that many cybercriminals live in countries where Western law enforcement cannot arrest them. Yet other actions can be taken: “We are able to hit their resources, freeze their wallets, their income. And, more generally, law enforcement have the ability to inflict damage by directly attacking their infrastructure,” he points out. The fight against cybercrime “never ends,” concluded Europol’s head of operations.