Law enforcement has shut down a VPN provider called VPNLab.net for allegedly supplying services to hackers.
On Tuesday, Europol announced it had seized or disrupted 15 servers that hosted VPNLab.net on claims it facilitated numerous cybercrimes, including the distribution of ransomware.
The FBI and law enforcement agencies across Europe were involved in the takedown, which forced the VPN provider offline on Monday. The homepage for VPNLab.net has now been replaced with a notice declaring the domain has been seized.
According to Europol, VPNLab.net was first established in 2008. Like other VPN providers, it offered customers a way to encrypt their internet connections, which can prevent exposure of a computer’s web traffic to ISPs or to governments. VPNLab.net was offering annual subscriptions to its VPN service for as little as $69.99.
“Our service is designed for a broad spectrum of clients: webmasters, SEO-optimizers, traders, businessmen and people, who care about their personal security,” VPNLab.net originally said on its homepage.
However, law enforcement began scrutinizing the service after “multiple investigations” uncovered cybercriminals using VPNLab.net to mask hacking activities such as malware distribution and ransomware campaigns. Investigators also noticed VPNLab.net was advertising itself on the dark web, where cybercriminals regularly sell illegal goods.
“As a result of the investigation, more than one hundred businesses have been identified as at risk of cyberattacks,” Europol said. In addition, law enforcement has seized customer data from VPNLab.net’s servers, which could reveal clues to the various hackers that allegedly used it.
Europol also signaled VPNLab.net refused to cooperate with authorities, which sparked the takedown. “One important aspect of this action is also to show that, if service providers support illegal action and do not provide any information on legal requests from law enforcement authorities, that these services are not bulletproof,” said Germany’s Chief of Hanover Police Department Volker Kluwe. “This operation shows the result of an effective cooperation of international law enforcement agencies, which makes it possible to shut down a global network and destroy such brands.”
The crackdown raises questions over whether law enforcement will go after other VPN providers for potential links to cybercrime. Services such as NordVPN say they will never comply with government requests, which could put them into conflict with international law enforcement.
