Recently, police investigated a websitethat was selling a hacking tool to cybercriminals. The tool was purchased by hackers in 124 countries. The site's administrator was a man from St Helens, England, who was arrested and convicted. The operation to investigate the case was an international effort. It began when it was discovered that approximately 14,500 people around the world had purchased the Imminent Monitor Remote Access Trojan (IM RAT) from imminentmethods.net for just $25.
After successfully installing on the victim's system, the Trojan allows attackers to gain access to the infected device, disable anti-virus software, steal data or passwords , record keystrokes, and monitor victims via their webcams.
As mentioned above, the operation was a collaborative effort across multiple countries. The research was conducted primarily in nine countries and targeted vendors and users of the tool.
More than 20 search warrants were issued for Trojan users across the United Kingdom, in Manchester, Merseyside, Milton Keynes, Hull, London, Leeds, Walsall, Lancashire, Nottingham, Surrey, Essex and Somerset.
In the end, 14 people were arrested and questioned.
Among those arrested was a 27-year-old man who used the Trojan and committed three offenses.
Many investigations were carried out in the rest of Europe.
Australian police took the site down this morning, making the Imminent Monitor Remote Access Trojan no longer available.
Phil Larratt, from the UK's NCA, which was involved in the global operation, said: "Through our collaboration with other international and European agencies, we were able to take down a site that was distributing malware and facilitating hacking attacks."
“The Imminent Monitor Remote Access Trojan was used by individuals and organized crime groups in the United Kingdom to commit a series of offenses, such as thefts, money laundering and other illegal activities”.
"Cybercriminals who purchased this Trojan for just $25 were able to commit serious crimes, violating the privacy of unsuspecting victims and stealing sensitive data," he said.
Andy Milligan, from NWROCU, which also took part in the investigation into the site selling the Trojan, said: “It was a complex and difficult investigation. There was support from many agencies, including the NCA, Europol and Eurojust.”
Security experts recommend that users protect their devices by ensuring that their operating systems are always up to date, using anti-virus software, avoiding opening links or file attachments from suspicious or unknown sources, etc. More advice can be found here www.ncsc.gov.uk.
