As part of Operation Africa Cyber Surge II, Kaspersky supported INTERPOL by providing threat intelligence data. This allowed investigators to identify compromised infrastructure and apprehend suspected cybercriminals in Africa.
As a result of this operation, 14 perpetrators were arrested and network infrastructure was discovered that was linked to financial losses of more than $40 million.
Operation covered 25 African countries
The aim of Operation Africa Cyber Surge is to combat cybercrime and protect the population in the region. The first phase of the Africa Cyber Surge operation, in which Kaspersky also participated, carried out a series of operational and investigative actions against cybercriminals in Africa between July and November 2022.
In April 2023, the “Africa Cyber Surge II” operation began, which covered 25 African countries over a period of four months. The operation was carried out by INTERPOL's Cybercrime Directorate under the auspices of the INTERPOL Africa Cybercrime Operations Desk and the INTERPOL African Union Support Program (ISPA) in conjunction with AFRIPOL. Other supporting institutions included the British Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, the German Foreign Office and the Council of Europe.
Better cooperation with African authorities
In collaboration with other private sector partners of INTERPOL, Kaspersky has provided the international organization with so-called Indicators of Compromise (IoC). These included, but were not limited to, malicious command and control servers, phishing links and domains, and scam IPs. This has enabled INTERPOL to improve cooperation between African law enforcement agencies to detect and arrest cyber criminals suspected of committing cyber extortion, phishing, business email compromise and online fraud.
“Operation Africa Cyber Surge II has led to the strengthening of cybercrime services in member countries and the strengthening of partnerships with key actors such as computer emergency response teams and internet service providers,” said Jürgen Stock, Secretary General from INTERPOL. “This will further help reduce the global impact of cybercrime and protect communities in the region.”
Strengthening cybersecurity in Africa
“Multilateral collaboration involving the private sector, international law enforcement agencies and national authorities is paramount to our mission to build a safe digital world,” added Yuliya Shlychkova, Public Affairs Director at Kaspersky. “Only by leveraging the benefits of an effective public-private partnership can we further strengthen the cybersecurity industry in the African region and ensure that countries in Africa can realize their outstanding potential – without being hindered by cybercrime.”
“As digital systems, information and communication technologies and artificial intelligence become increasingly important, it is extremely important that public and private actors work hand in hand to prevent cybercriminals from abusing these technologies,” comments the Acting Executive Director of AFRIPOL , Ambassador Jalel Chelba. “Coordinated operations like Cyber Surge are necessary to dismantle cybercriminal networks and build individual, organizational and society-wide levels of protection.”
Kaspersky has been working with INTERPOL since 2019
The data exchange between Kaspersky and INTERPOL is part of a five-year cooperation agreement that both parties signed in 2019. This also includes personnel support and training for law enforcement. Since the signing of the document, Kaspersky and INTERPOL have jointly conducted anti-cybercrime operations and educational projects to raise public awareness of modern cyber risks.
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