Authorities on Thursday disrupted a botnet, a malware framework and seized infrastructure that Evil Corp and other cybercrime groups used to steal data and break into various networks.

The globally coordinated effort targeted SocGholish, multi-stage malware that has compromised websites, redirected users to traffic distribution systems (TDS) and slipped malware into their networks since 2017.

“The malware establishes an initial foothold into victim computers, collectively known as a botnet, and is then used by threat actors for further targeting with ransomware campaigns and espionage,” the FBI’s cyber division said in a statement. 

Cybersecurity firms, researchers and officials from the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Europol took down 106 servers and remediated nearly 15,000 sites that were infected with the malware. Officials also disabled the botnet and notified victims.

Sites infected with SocGholish, which are primarily hosted on WordPress, were widespread and provided everyday services including restaurants and auto repair shops, according to the Dutch National Police. 

The botnet, also known as “FakeUpdates,” is linked to the Russian cybercrime group Evil Corp. It also provided initial access to other ransomware variants, including DoppelPaymer, WastedLoocker, Hades Ransomware, LockBit, RansomHub and others, according to Infoblox, which participated in the takedown. 

Proofpoint, which also participated in the disruption, described Evil Corp as one of the most prominent cybercrime groups in operation and the “grandfather” of a threat type that compromises websites and uses TDS to redirect users to malware.

Following the takedown, the FBI issued a public service announcement warning about cybercriminals using TDS to break into victim networks for ransomware or other financial scams. 

Cybercriminals redirect traffic from sites to bypass firewalls, obscure their activity, identify potential victims and send them to phishing pages to steal credentials, initiate financial scams, access networks, deliver other malware, and sell access to other cybercriminals, officials said.

The law enforcement action was part of Operation Endgame, a multinational effort targeting cybercrime since 2024, and more narrowly for the FBI part of Operation Riptide, an ongoing campaign targeting cybercriminals and the infrastructure and financial networks they use to commit fraud.

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Authorities arrested and unsealed charges against a Canadian man accused of running Kimwolf, one of the most far-reaching DDoS botnets on record, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Jacob Butler was arrested Wednesday in Ottawa, Canada, and awaits extradition to the United States where he is charged with aiding and abetting computer intrusions and, if convicted, faces up to 10 years in prison.

Investigators said the 23-year-old, also known as “Dort,” was a principal administrator of Kimwolf, a variant of the record-setting Aisuru DDoS botnet that spread like wildfire and eventually took over more than 2 million Android TV devices after its operators figured out how to abuse residential-proxy networks for local control.

Authorities in March seized infrastructure powering the Kimwolf, Aisuru, JackSkid and Mossad botnets, which hijacked a combined three million devices and launched more than 300,000 DDoS attacks collectively.

Kimwolf, which operated as a DDoS-for-hire service for other cybercriminals, initiated more than 25,000 attacks, resulting in network outages, disruptions and financial losses exceeding millions of dollars, officials said. Officials also said they found evidence linking Kimwolf to DDoS attacks targeting Department of Defense Information Network IP addresses.

“Kimwolf and the botnets associated with this operation have supported persistent corporate intrusion efforts and been used by a wide range of serious threat actors,” Zach Edwards, staff threat researcher at Infoblox, told CyberScoop.

Authorities searched Butler’s residence during the globally coordinated operation, but did not arrest him until Wednesday, roughly two months later. Officials filed a criminal complaint against Butler in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in April, and unsealed the complaint following his arrest.

A special agent with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service confirmed Butler’s identity and involvement in the Kimwolf botnet after Butler used the same IP address to access multiple email accounts he controlled and Discord accounts linked to Kimwolf. 

“I have observed significant operational security lapses on Butler’s part resulting in patterns of overlapping IP usage among a Google account in Butler’s true name, other Google accounts that I believe to be controlled by Butler due to use of the same machine cookies, and Discord accounts which have been used in support of the KimWolf operation,” the special agent said in an affidavit. 

“The Discord accounts show patterns of overlapping IP usage with the KimWolf backend server. These IP addresses appear to be proxy or VPN IPs which were likely used by Butler in an unsuccessful attempt to evade law enforcement scrutiny. However, like many cybercriminals, Butler did not use proxy or VPN IP addresses exclusively,” the special agent added. 

Authorities described the botnet takedowns in March in nearly conclusive terms at the time, yet court records indicate the Kimwolf botnet is back in operation. 

“While today’s announcement is encouraging to see, there are still hundreds of millions of insecure IoT and network devices connected to sensitive government, corporate and home networks, and these remain a priority target for threat actors looking to build the next version of Kimwolf,” Edwards said.

“Until we find solutions to this underlying problem,” he added, “we’ll unfortunately continue to play Whac-A-Mole with botnet operators year after year.”

You can read the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint against Butler below.

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