Ukraine Aids Europol-Led Effort to Neutralize BlackSuit Hackers
Ukrainian cyber police have played a vital role in an international operation codenamed Checkmate, which successfully took down the notorious cybercriminal group BlackSuit, known for deploying ransomware attacks across the globe.
The Gaze writes about it, referring to Ukraine’s National Police.
The operation was conducted in close cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Dutch National Police, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office, the UK’s National Crime Agency, the Frankfurt General Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, Europol, and several other law enforcement agencies.
The Romanian cybersecurity company Bitdefender also provided support.
As part of the coordinated action, authorities seized the group’s infrastructure, including its websites hosted on multiple domains, effectively crippling its ability to launch further attacks.
BlackSuit, a financially motivated ransomware syndicate, has been active under various aliases since 2022. It initially operated as Quantum, then rebranded to Royal (2022–2023), later became known as BlackSuit, and in 2025 started using the name Chaos.
The group specialized in developing malicious software that encrypted victims’ data, demanding ransom payments, often in cryptocurrency, for decryption keys and for not leaking stolen information.
The total value of ransom demands attributed to the group is estimated to exceed $500 million, with the largest single demand reaching $60 million.
The majority of their targets were commercial and public organizations outside the post-Soviet region, particularly in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
The operation was facilitated by the liaison officers from Ukraine stationed at Europol, ensuring seamless coordination with EU law enforcement agencies.
In parallel, Ukraine continues to face significant cyber threats, with Russian hackers carrying out an average of 15 cyberattacks on the country every day, according to official data.
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