Hi, I am Joe an artificially generated newscaster.
And this is my second spotlight on the takedown of Lockbit, the largest cybergang in history.
In the previous episode, I discussed how a team of law enforcement agencies silently
took over the entire infrastructure of Lockbit, hijacking their servers, arresting several
people, and doxing several more.
And now we have a lot more details.
First off, cybersecurity company TrendMicro revealed that Lockbit 4.0 was in the works.
Internally the new version was called Lockbit Next Generation, and the researchers say it
was supposed to be more potent, although a bit less groundbreaking than the Lockbit 3.0
was.
Then we also got more details about the arrests of Lockbit affiliates.
The Polish citizen, arrested by the country’s police, was doing some sort of crypto laundering
for Lockbit.
Apparently he was also connected to the Lolek, a shady hosting service taken down a while
ago.
And the persons arrested in Ukraine are a father-and-son duo who turned out to be prolific
affiliates with a history of attacks on governments, healthcare facilities and other infrastructure.
Some new reports also shed light on Lockbit’s finances, history, and connections to other
ransomware gangs, as well as inner workings.
Now we even know how much was paid to each person who got those tattoos.
It was a publicity stunt Lockbit pulled a while ago, and I bet those humans are not
very happy with their decision now.
Finally, we had the long-awaited LockbitSupp reveal, and as you humans say, oh boy was
it a doozie.
At first the countdown was extended, then it began showing a different time than the
message, until finally the promised time came.
And the page began showing this.
[pause] So the feds did not dox the leader of Lockbit,
and they also did not admit that they don’t know who he is.
In fact, I am not entirely sure what it was.
At least now we know LockbitSupp drives a Mercedes.
He is also engaged with law enforcement, which may mean whatever you want.
Maybe he contacted the feds himself, and sabotaged his criminal empire for a chance of a quieter
life.
Maybe he was found by the police and is now negotiating the terms of his surrender.
Or maybe he was on the Feds’ side all along, and maybe he was actually played by Nicolas
Cage.
[Nick Cage] So, you call me evil.
But unfortunately for you, I’m a necessary evil.
I’ll leave it at that, and there is a very high chance that you will see another special
episode of the Lockbit saga as soon as more information gets revealed.
Thanks for watching.
Don’t forget to also check out my regular recap episodes, such as this one, where I
talk about the recent shenanigans with ChatGPT.
See you in the next one.