♟️ Summer 2025 brought bad news for cybercriminals: the international operation Checkmate, involving Europol, Ukraine’s cyber police, and U.S. authorities, delivered tangible results – the ransomware gang BlackSuit was taken down.
The group, previously known as Quantum, Royal, and more recently Chaos, specialized in ransomware: encrypting user data, stealing sensitive files, and demanding cryptocurrency ransoms. And these weren’t symbolic sums: total demands exceeded $500 million, with the largest single case hitting $60 million.
Their targets? Mostly companies and government institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Among the victims were large retail chains, Aeroflot (as previously reported), and even the capital of Minnesota, which suffered a large-scale cyberattack. One popular dating app also lost a trove of confidential user photos.
How did the operation unfold?
On April 15, 2025, U.S. authorities seized over 20 BTC linked to a suspected gang member operating under the alias Hors.
By July 24, the U.S. Department of Justice had filed a lawsuit seeking the forfeiture of crypto assets worth $2.4 million.
Ukraine’s cyber police played an active role in the investigation, providing analytical support and helping trace the gang’s crypto transactions.
? What does it mean?
First – crypto extortionists are vulnerable. Even if they work from abroad. Even if they encrypt everything in sight.
Second – international cyber cooperation is real, and it works.
And yes: Bitcoin is no shield from accountability when a global Checkmate comes knocking.
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