Russian cybercrime operation being dismantled after two decades, US officials and CrowdStrike say

In a significant operation, Russian cybercrime group Sality is being dismantled after persisting for two decades, according to U.S. law enforcement officials and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The U.S. government, in coordination with European law enforcement and other organizations, seized the web domains that hackers used to take control of computers for spamming, denial-of-service attacks, or cryptocurrency theft.

CrowdStrike also cut off a network of compromised computers from the mastermind. The botnet, first spotted in 2003, remains one of the internet's longest-running cybercriminal enterprises. CrowdStrike researcher Tillmann Werner described the takedown as the most complex botnet takeover they have ever done. This is the first time the Russian Embassy in Washington has commented on Sality, leaving further details about the group's origins and operations unknown.