The Dutch National Police, in collaboration with international partners, have successfully disrupted the infrastructure supporting two information stealers known as RedLine and MetaStealer. This operation, carried out on October 28, 2024, was part of a coordinated effort by an international law enforcement task force named Operation Magnus, which involved authorities from the U.S., the U.K., Belgium, Portugal, and Australia.
Eurojust announced in a statement that the operation resulted in the closure of three servers in the Netherlands and the seizure of two domains. It is estimated that over 1,200 servers in multiple countries were utilized to operate the malware. One administrator has been charged by U.S. authorities, and two individuals have been arrested by Belgian law enforcement, with one remaining in custody.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Maxim Rudometov, a developer and administrator of RedLine Stealer, with access device fraud, conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, and money laundering. If convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison. Rudometov was involved in managing the RedLine Infostealer infrastructure, handling cryptocurrency accounts for payments, and possessing the RedLine malware.
The investigation into the technical infrastructure of RedLine and MetaStealer began a year ago after a tip from cybersecurity company ESET about the servers located in the Netherlands. Data seized included usernames, passwords, IP addresses, timestamps, registration dates, and the source code of both malware variants. The operation also led to the shutdown of several Telegram accounts associated with the information stealers.
Information stealers like RedLine and MetaStealer play a significant role in cybercrime by enabling threat actors to extract credentials and sensitive data for illicit purposes. These stealers are often distributed through a malware-as-a-service model, where developers rent access to the tools to other cybercriminals. This successful takedown highlights the collaborative efforts of international law enforcement in combating cyber threats.
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