#bulletproof-hosting
2 cases
Operation Saffron: Europol dismantles First VPN, the bulletproof anonymity layer behind years of ransomware casesDarknet & Illicit MarketsRansomware
On May 19-20, 2026, Europol and Eurojust's Operation Saffron took down First VPN — a bulletproof service running since 2014 and used by 25+ ransomware groups. Investigators infiltrated it, seized 33+ servers and unmasked ~506 users. The Ukrainian admin was searched and interviewed, not arrested.
Darknet & Illicit MarketsRansomware
Media Land: The Bulletproof Hosting Business That Kept Ransomware OnlineRansomwareFinancial FraudBotnet & DDoS
LockBit, BlackSuit and Play didn't run their own servers. They rented them from a company in St Petersburg that answered no abuse reports and no takedown requests, and billed like any other host.
RansomwareFinancial FraudBotnet & DDoS