US Sanctions First VPN In Crackdown On Ransomware Criminals

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

European authorities dismantled the VPN service in May following a yearslong investigation:

In May, European authoritiesdismantled First VPN, also known as 1VPNS, and arrested Rashevskyi, who is based in Dnipro, Ukraine, to culminate an investigation that began in 2021.

Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, said that First VPN was well publicized on Russian-language cybercrime forums as a service offering anonymous payments, hidden infrastructure and services "designed specifically for criminal use."

The agency also said the VPN service helped cybercriminals hide their identities while carrying out ransomware attacks and data theft, and that it appeared "in almost every major cybercrime investigation supported by Europol in recent years."

[...] Under the sanctions enacted this week, the Department of the Treasury will prohibit all transactions by people in the US involving property owned by Rashevskyi or Silayev. The department also said any of their property that is in the country or in possession of anyone in the country must be reported to the department. Financial institutions and others are prohibited from "engaging in certain transactions or activities" involving Rashevskyi or Silayev.

"The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior," the department said in the statement.

When used legally and ethically, aVPNis an invaluable tool for consumers seeking online privacy. The safest and most effective VPNs -- CNET advises against using free ones -- will not log or record your data, meaning that no one can see your internet activity. VPNs also mask your physical location by using a unique IP address, making it look as though you're in a different country than the one you're in. Many people use VPNs to watch online content that is geo-restricted from their actual country of residence.

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