April 18, 2024 at 06:27AM
Feature Cops shut down LabHost, a dark-web marketplace providing fake websites for phishing. 35 arrests were made in an international operation led by London’s Metropolitan Police Service. LabHost had over 2,000 paying customers, generating over $1 million in revenue. Police aim to discourage and disrupt criminal use of such services.
Based on the meeting notes, here are the key takeaways:
1. LabHost, a dark web souk, was shut down by an international operation led by London’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), involving authorities from 17 countries.
2. At least 35 arrests were made, with suspicions of involvement in phishing activities and money laundering processes. The British arm of LabHost was reportedly led by one of the arrested individuals.
3. The disruption operation was a spin-off from a 2022 campaign code-named “Elaborate” and aimed to deter criminal users by convincing them that they will eventually be caught.
4. LabHost offered phishing kits for about 170 organizations, with the most sophisticated tool being “LabRat,” which allowed criminals to extract specific details from victims in real time.
5. LabHost had about 2,000 paying customers, generating over $1 million in subscription revenue from criminal activities.
6. Authorities collected logs revealing around a million interactions with victims of sites created by LabHost, with approximately 82,000 related to UK victims.
7. The Met has control of LabHost’s infrastructure and has begun contacting many of LabHost’s subscribers to inform them that their information is now in the hands of global police.
8. Around 25,000 victims in the UK are believed to have been contacted by the end of Thursday, April 18, with the Met offering a “victim package” on its website for further help and resources.
These takeaways summarize the significant details from the meeting notes regarding the takedown of LabHost and the planned actions by the authorities.