In a massive global sting dubbed Operation Endgame 2.0, European and North American investigators just struck.
They hit at the core of Russia’s most dangerous cybercrime networks.
We’re talking about the digital masterminds behind Qakbot, Danabot, Trickbot—and the infamous Conti ransomware gang.
Led by Germany’s BKA, the operation spanned seven nations.
It resulted in 20 international arrest warrants and 16 U.S. indictments.
Who Were Among the Accused?
Rustam Gallyamov and Aleksandr “JimmBee” Stepanov—alleged architects of chaos who infected over 300,000 computers worldwide.
And then there’s Vitalii Kovalev, aka Stern.
A man German officials call “one of the most successful blackmailers in cybercrime history,” with a crypto wallet worth nearly €1 billion.
The scale of their crimes is staggering. Hospitals, governments, corporations—you name it.
They didn’t just steal data; they ran espionage campaigns, demanded ransoms, and wreaked havoc during the COVID-19 crisis.
“These aren’t basement hackers,” said BKA president Holger Münch.
“They’re international players—but we’ve got eyes on them.”
Most are still hiding out in Russia or Dubai, where extradition’s a long shot. But naming them?
That’s step one in burning their cover.
In the shadowy world of cybercrime, anonymity is power.
Operation Endgame just switched on the lights.
