- A common operation has disturbed a larger pro-Russian DDOS network
- Operation Eastwood saw 2 suspects arrested and over 100 affected servers
- Larger infrastructure related to the group was taken offline
A joint international operation performed by law enforcement authorities from France, Spain, Sweden, Poland and others has disturbed a larger pro-Russian cybercrime network noname057 (16). Operation Eastwood, supported by Europol and Eurojust, so 12 countries take simultaneous actions against offenders and infrastructure belonging to the criminal network.
As a result of the operations, 2 suspects were arrested, 7 arrest warrants were issued, 24 houses were sought, 100 servers were disturbed, over 1,000 supporters were notified of their legal liability, and larger parts of Noname057 (16) main infrastructure were taken offline.
The criminal network surprisingly primarily attacked targets in Ukraine, but had recently shifted its focus to Ukraine’s allies in Russia/Ukraine war, many of whom are NATO members.
Noname057 (16)
The group is reportedly responsible for distributed attacks on the denial of service (DDOS) across Europe against organizations and critical infrastructure, including banks, defense companies, transport companies, public agencies and energy providers.
“National authorities have reported a number of cyberattacks linked to Noname057 (16) criminal activities. By 2023 and 2024, the criminal network participated in attacks against Swedish authorities and bank sites. Since the investigation started in November 2023, Germany confirmed 14 separate waves of attacks aimed at more than 250 companies and institutions.”
Criminal Cybernetworks like these are a bit of a cat and mouse game for law enforcement, which is illustrated by the fairly regular major disruptions to criminal networks, which can temporarily dampen the attacks in an area, but hardly make a buck in the number of total attacks or offensives.
Earlier in 2025, Europol arrested 17 suspected and seized millions of a criminal banking network that allegedly provided money laundering to criminals and avoided law enforcement with the help of cryptocurrency and a structured underground financial system.
