Law enforcement authorities in the US and Poland have dismantled a notorious bulletproof hosting platform called ‘Lolek Hosted’ as part of a coordinated action aimed at fighting cybercrime.
The term “Bulletproof hosting” refers to hosting services intended for the use of cyber criminals and other threat actors. The services allow to upload content with no or a very few restrictions and are designed to obstruct law enforcement and other kinds of government investigations.
“This domain has been seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation as part of a coordinated law enforcement action taken against Lolek Hosted,” reads the banner on the website.
According to the announcement, the takedown was carried out in cooperation with the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice. Poland’s Regional Prosecutor's Office in Katowice and the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime in Krakow are said to have “provided substantial assistance” in the operation.
The US and Polish authorities have yet to comment on the situation.
In June this year, Romanian national Mihai Ionut Paunescu was sentenced to three years in prison for running PowerHost[.]ro, a bulletproof service that enabled cybercriminals to distribute various banking and information-stealing malware families, including the Gozi (Ursnif), Zeus, and SpyEye trojans, as well as the BlackEnergy malware.
