Kaspersky has assisted its partner law enforcement agencies INTERPOL and AFRIPOL in a joint effort to disrupt cybercrime across the African region. Dubbed “Serengeti,” the operation has led to the arrest of more than 1,000 individuals suspected of links to cybercrimes such as ransomware operation and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, resulting in nearly US $193 million in financial losses worldwide.
As Africa is going through a rapid digitisation, the threat of cybercrime on the continent is also escalating. In the African region in particular, ransomware has emerged as a prominent attack vector, targeting critical infrastructure, financial institutions, and manufacturing facilities, among others. During the first 10 months of 2024, there were over 165,000 ransomware attack detections in Africa, according to Kaspersky data. Other noticeable cyberthreats targeting users and organizations in the region include spyware and password stealers.
Conducted from September 2 to October 31, operation Serengeti dismantled 134,089 malicious infrastructures and networks linked to cybercrimes including ransomware operations, BEC attacks, digital extortion and online scams — all identified as prominent threats in INTERPOL’s 2024 Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report.
Kaspersky has contributed to the operation by sharing information on threat actors, data on ransomware attacks and malware targeting the region, as well as up-to-date indicators of compromise (IoCs) for malicious infrastructure across Africa. Among the malware targeting African countries was also a well-known Brazilian banking trojan Grandoreiro – Kaspersky recently released new findings on this trojan at its Security Analyst Summit. Additionally, ransomware families detected in attacks on African organizations among others included LockBit, Rhysida, and Medusa.
The operation has also resulted in the identification of more than 35,000 victims of cyber offenses investigated.
Valdecy Urquiza, Secretary General of INTERPOL, said: “From multi-level marketing scams to credit card fraud on an industrial scale, the increasing volume and sophistication of cybercrime attacks is of serious concern. Operation Serengeti shows what we can achieve by working together, and these arrests alone will save countless potential future victims from real personal and financial pain. We know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will continue targeting these criminal groups worldwide.”
“As an advocator of global cyberspace safety, it is meaningful for us to play a part in this joint operation. This is a testament of the importance of cooperation between governments, international law enforcement agencies, and cybersecurity companies like us to battle cybercrimes and threats. As cybercrimes are borderless, collective efforts are crucial to mitigate the risks and enhance cyber resiliency, thus helping to make the digital world safer for governments, businesses and individuals alike,” says Adrian Hia, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.
