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🚨 [Operation Magnus] Two Major Infostealers Operations, Redline and Meta, Disrupted, One Name Announced 📌 On October 28, 2024, the Dutch National Police (Politie), in close cooperation with other partners of the international law enforcement task force Operation Magnus, disrupted the operations of the Redline and Meta infostealers. 📌 Redline, active since approximately early 2020, and Meta, active since approximately early 2022, are two malware programs that facilitate the theft of victims' passwords and other private information. The stolen credentials, also known as "logs," are used for various illicit activities, often leading to ransomware attacks. 📌 The dedicated website for Operation Magnus includes a video stating, "We gained full access to Redline and Meta servers, obtaining usernames, passwords, IP addresses, timestamps, registration dates, and much more." As part of the video, law enforcement revealed 88 monikers, likely referring to users with VIP status, with VIP sarcastically redefined as “Very Important to the Police,” Similar to Operation EndGame and Operation Cronos earlier this year, LE employed psychological pressure, including a countdown for another announcement the following day. https://lnkd.in/e59y9_uM Read Analyst1 research here: 🖇️ Operation Cronos: https://lnkd.in/eu6KK9Qh 🖇️ Operation EndGame: https://lnkd.in/gnYhHPG6 📌 In an announcement released on October 29, 2024, links to press releases by Eurojust, the Department of Justice, and the Politie were published. According to these announcements, the takedown of the infostealers occurred on October 28 during a worldwide operation. Three servers were taken down in the Netherlands, two domains were seized, charges were unsealed in the United States, and two people were taken into custody in Belgium. 📌 The DOJ unsealed charges against Maxim Rudometov, identified as one of the developers and administrators of Redline Infostealer. According to the complaint, Rudometov managed the Redline infrastructure, was associated with various cryptocurrency accounts used to receive and launder payments, and possessed Redline malware. If convicted, Rudometov faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for access device fraud, five years for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, and 20 years for money laundering. 📌 The takedown of multiple Telegram accounts plays a significant role in disrupting infostealers activity. "Until recently, Telegram was a service where criminals felt untouchable and anonymous. This action has shown that this is no longer the case," states the Politie’s press release. It remains unclear to what extent, Telegram cooperated with LE in this case. If confirmed, this would mark a major move and significant step in combating cybercrime. Analyst1 🦅