In an operation that is targeting cybercrime across Asean, Interpol says they have identified thousands of compromised systems which included command-and-control (C2C) servers infected with malware and the websites run by governments.
Nearly 8,800 of the servers across 8 countries were found infected with various kinds of malware codes including those that target financial institutions and are used to launch DDoS attacks. Investigations on these systems are still ongoing, according to a statement released by the Interpol, which ran Asean operation out of its Global Complex for the Innovation in Singapore.
It has added that about 270 websites are found to be infected with a malware code which exploited a vulnerability in the website design software. All these compromised sites have included those run by governments, which may contain personal data of the citizens, they said.
“A huge number of phishing website operators are also identified, including one with many links to Nigeria, with some further investigations into other suspects still ongoing,” Interpol has said. “One of the criminals based in Indonesia who is selling phishing kits using the Darknet had posted YouTube videos showing the customers how to use this illicit software.”
Investigators from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Philippines are involved in the initiative and exchanged information on the “specific cyber crime situations” in their country.
Stressing the need for collaboration between the public and private sectors in fighting cybercrime, Noboru Nakatani, executive director for the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, said: “With direct access to the information, expertise, and capabilities of the private sector and specialists from the Cyber Fusion Centre, participants were able to fully appreciate the scale and scope of cybercrime actors across the region and in their countries.”