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Is Your Computer Secretly Part of a Criminal Network? Find Out if You Were Affected by the Huge Operation Endgame Bust.
A major global police mission, called Operation Endgame, has successfully shut down the tools used by many online criminals. This effort, led by Europol and German authorities, targeted and disabled several harmful malware systems. The operation strikes a significant blow against the cybercrime world.
A Coordinated Global Strike
Between November 10 and 13, 2025, law enforcement agencies from multiple countries worked together. They focused on dismantling the infrastructure behind some of the most active malware. The primary targets were the Rhadamanthys information stealer, the VenomRAT remote access trojan, and the Elysium botnet.
This coordinated action led to significant results:
- 1 arrest was made in Greece, targeting the main suspect behind VenomRAT.
- 11 searches were conducted across Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands.
- Over 1,025 servers used by the criminals were shut down or disrupted worldwide.
- 20 domains used to operate the malware were seized by authorities.
These criminal networks had infected hundreds of thousands of computers, stealing millions of login credentials from unsuspecting victims.
Understanding the Threats
The malware taken down served different criminal purposes. It is helpful to understand what each one did.
- Rhadamanthys (Infostealer): Think of this as a digital thief living on a computer. Its job was to find and steal sensitive information. This includes passwords, bank account details, and cryptocurrency wallet keys.
- VenomRAT (Remote Access Trojan): This program gave criminals a secret backdoor into a victim’s computer. Once installed, attackers could take full control, watch the user, and steal files directly.
- Elysium (Botnet): This was a network of infected computers, often called “zombies.” Criminals controlled this network to launch large-scale attacks, send spam, or distribute more malware without the computer owners knowing.
How to Check if You Are Affected
The criminals behind this malware had access to a massive amount of stolen data, including over 100,000 cryptocurrency wallets. It is important to check if your information was compromised.
Authorities have provided official tools to help you. You can visit politie.politie.nl/checkyourhack or haveibeenpwned.com to see if your email address is part of a known breach. If your information is found, the websites will provide guidance on what to do next to secure your accounts.
The Shifting Cybercrime Landscape
This operation has disrupted a major part of the cybercrime economy, particularly the “malware-as-a-service” model where criminals rent malicious tools. Security experts at Trend Micro
note that this takedown, along with others, is causing criminals to look for new tools.
Christopher Boyton, a researcher at Trend Micro , explained that cybercriminals are now moving to alternative platforms like Vidar. Other security firms that contributed to this effort include Proofpoint , CrowdStrike, and Lumen. While Operation Endgame is a victory, it also highlights that criminals adapt quickly. This means companies and individuals must remain watchful and continue to update their security strategies.