In a fairly unprecedented executive action, Europol and the FBI shut down a VPN service called Safe-Inet that helped cyber criminals hide their operations.
The service did not maintain records and traffic directed through a series of VPN connections.
While many VPN services seek to keep customers private and safe, it is clear that this company has crossed the line.
Millions of Internet users around the world use VPNs to keep data secure and protect their online privacy.
Another key benefit is that VPN hides users' real IP protocol addresses, making them anonymous, preventing external surveillance devices from spamming.
While there are reasons to remain anonymous, these services can also be misused by criminals.
This can lead to problems, as most VPN service providers do not keep identifiable records, making the task of law enforcement agencies more difficult.
Europol and the FBI shut down the service, which did its best to keep its customers hidden.
According to Europol, the service was used by some of the biggest cyber criminals, including ransomware software operators, and criminals were able to avoid detection with the help of a VPN service.
"This VPN service has been sold at a high price to the criminal world as one of the best tools available to avoid objection from law enforcement agencies, offering up to 5 layers of anonymous VPN connections," said the European Law Enforcement Agency.
Law enforcement agencies have been able to identify some 250 companies around the world that have been spied on by criminals using this VPN.
These companies were subsequently warned of an imminent ransomware attack against their systems, allowing them to take the necessary measures to protect themselves from such an attack.
The operation called Operation Nova targeted several servers and VPN service areas, which also provided hosting services.
U.S. authorities also confiscated several servers and ruled by three linked domain names: INSORG.ORG, SAFE-INET.COM and SAFE-INET.NET.
All domain names show the confiscation sign with the badges of the various law enforcement agencies that contributed to the process.
The U.S. Department of Justice noted that the service was intentionally designed to provide hosting or VPN services to criminals.
It was designed to facilitate online criminal activities and allow clients to evade disclosures through law enforcement agencies.
Many of these services are advertised in online forums dedicated to discussing criminal activity.
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