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A co-ordinated international operation, led by France and the Netherlands, has seen authorities seize and dismantle a VPN used by cyber criminals."firstVPNservice" – software not featured in our guide to the best VPNs – was "deeply embedded in the cybercrime ecosystem," and has been promoted on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums.A complete shutdown
(Image credit: Future)Operation Saffron was led by France and the Netherlands, and was assisted by crime agencies from the UK, Switzerland, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Romania, and the EU. Additional support was provided by Spain, Sweden, Canada, Germany, and the US.The target was firstVPNservice. The VPN has been described as "a trusted tool for remaining beyond the reach of law enforcement." It reportedly offered anonymous payments and hidden infrastructure to its users, as well as "services designed specifically for criminal use."Action took place between 19-20 May, and targeted firstVPNservice's infrastructure. The VPN's administrator was interviewed, and a house in Ukraine was searched.33 servers used for criminal activity, covering 27 countries, were dismantled. Infrastructure used to support worldwide criminal activity was disrupted. The following domain names were seized:1vpns.com1vpns.net1vpns.orgAssociated .onion domains Users of firstVPNservice have been identified and notified of its shutdown. 65 IP addresses were identified and posted online.
