Ethical Hacking News
In a significant development, Europol's latest operation, "Operation Endgame," has resulted in the dismantling of Rhadamanthys Stealer, Venom RAT, and Elysium botnet. This operation, which took place between November 10th and 13th, 2025, saw a coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies from around the world to disrupt cybercriminal infrastructures and ransomware enablers. With over 1,025 servers taken down and 20 domains seized, this operation has dealt a serious blow to the cybercrime community. The full extent of this disruption remains to be fully assessed, but one thing is certain: Operation Endgame has had a significant impact in disrupting the activities of several major malware families.
Europol's "Operation Endgame" resulted in significant disruption of high-profile malware families, including Rhadamanthys Stealer, Venom RAT, and Elysium botnet. The operation saw the coordinated disruption of cybercriminal infrastructures and ransomware enablers worldwide, involving law enforcement agencies from over 10 countries. Over 1,025 servers were taken down, with 20 domains used by malware operators seized, and one arrest made in Greece. The main suspect behind the infostealer remains at large, despite many victims not realizing they had been infected with malware. The operation led to the neutralization of several strains of initial access malware and issuance of international arrest warrants for key operators.
Europol's latest operation, code-named "Operation Endgame," has resulted in a significant blow to the cybercrime community. The operation, which took place between November 10th and 13th, 2025, saw Europol and Eurojust working in tandem with law enforcement agencies from around the world to dismantle several high-profile malware families.
At the forefront of this effort were Rhadamanthys Stealer, Venom RAT, and the Elysium botnet. These malicious entities had been responsible for infecting hundreds of thousands of systems worldwide, stealing millions of credentials, and siphoning off over 100,000 crypto wallets worth tens of millions of euros.
The operation was a joint effort between law enforcement agencies from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This collaboration allowed for the coordinated disruption of cybercriminal infrastructures and ransomware enablers worldwide.
The results of this operation were nothing short of impressive. Europol announced that over 1,025 servers had been taken down, with 20 domains used by malware operators being seized. Furthermore, one arrest was made in Greece, while searches were conducted across eleven locations in Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands.
The scope of the operation was vast, with many of the victims not even realizing they had been infected with malware. The main suspect behind the infostealer, which had access to over 100,000 crypto wallets worth millions of euros, remains at large.
In addition to these significant achievements, Operation Endgame also resulted in a range of other important outcomes. These included the neutralization of several strains of initial access malware used by threat actors to infiltrate systems prior to ransomware deployment. This included Bumblebee, Lactrodectus, Qakbot, Hijackloader, DanaBot, Trickbot, and Warmcookie – all commonly used in ransomware-as-a-service schemes.
Moreover, the operation led to the issuance of 20 international arrest warrants for key operators, many of whom are now under international and public alerts. Germany has also listed 18 of these suspects on the EU Most Wanted list from May 23rd.
In a broader context, Operation Endgame is part of a growing global effort to tackle ransomware enablers and cybercriminal infrastructures. This includes a range of initiatives and operations aimed at disrupting the financial flows that support these activities.
The operation also serves as a reminder of the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between law enforcement agencies and cybercriminals. While successes like Operation Endgame are certainly welcome, they also underscore the need for continued vigilance and cooperation among governments and cybersecurity professionals to stay ahead of this ever-evolving threat landscape.
As with any major operation of its kind, there will inevitably be lessons learned and best practices identified that can inform future efforts. For now, however, it is clear that Operation Endgame has had a significant impact in disrupting the activities of several major malware families.
The full extent of this disruption remains to be fully assessed, but one thing is certain: Europol's Operation Endgame has dealt a serious blow to the cybercrime community and will undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences for those involved.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/A-Global-Crackdown-Europols-Operation-Endgame-Dismantles-Rhadamanthys-Venom-RAT-and-Elysium-Botnet-ehn.shtml
https://securityaffairs.com/184581/cyber-crime/a-new-round-of-europols-operation-endgame-dismantled-rhadamanthys-venom-rat-and-elysium-botnet.html
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/police-disrupts-rhadamanthys-venomrat-and-elysium-malware-operations/
https://www.securityweek.com/1000-servers-hit-in-law-enforcement-takedown-of-rhadamanthys-venomrat-elysium/
https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/bumblebee-buzzes-back-black
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/bumblebee-malware-returns-after-recent-law-enforcement-disruption/
Published: Thu Nov 13 09:38:04 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
