Cybercrime
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Fraud Management & Cybercrime
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Geo-Specific
9 Countries Referred Thousands of URLs Tied to Grooming and Violent Content
European law enforcement notified hosting providers of 4,340 URLs containing nihilistic violent extremism in a weeks-long international crackdown, the European Union’s law enforcement intelligence agency said Friday.
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Investigators from nine countries participated in the operation dubbed “Referral Action Days” in June and July to disrupt the online ecosystem and propaganda dissemination of The Com, a sprawling network of loosely merged young hackers who recruit vulnerable youths to engage in self-harm, animal torture, violent attacks and sex crimes.
“The focus of the Referral Action Days stems from law enforcement authorities’ need to address nihilistic violent extremist online venues, which are misused to groom, radicalize and disseminate terrorist content online,” Europol said.
The joint action is part of the European Union counterterrorism agenda created this year, which calls for bloc-level collaboration with online service providers. “This includes improving the handling of illegal content related to terrorism and other harmful material, as well as monitoring extremist misuse of gaming platforms and providing regular assessments,” Europol said.
The ProtectEU initiative is a response to the growing abuse of technologies such as social media and artificial intelligence that has exacerbated the targeting of minors online and reshaped criminal activities, the EU said.
“Groups affiliated with The Com recruit members and groom victims on social media, messaging apps and gaming platforms,” Europol said, and social media algorithms propel extremist content into minors’ feeds.
The group’s propaganda may appear harmless at first but quickly become violent and traumatizing. It is also laced with coded language and emojis secretly conveying messages that encourage self-harm and child sexual exploitation, Europol said. The group’s extreme acts such as suicide and child sexual abuse are often livestreamed on social media platforms and later disseminated by supportive bystanders.
Once victims or potential members are attracted or funneled into private forums and chat rooms, “radicalization and victimization occur,” as well as sextortion to coerce them into staying.
“Over the past two years, Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre has observed The Com network evolving into a global threat, particularly concerning minors as both victims and perpetrators,” Europol said. “The ECTC has received hundreds of requests from Member States and third parties regarding crimes committed within The Com milieu.”
A previous initiative targeting the cybercriminal network, dubbed Project Compass, led to the arrest of 30 suspected members of the group and generated leads on another 179 individuals, Europol announced February.
Researchers categorize the collective into three main branches based on the type of activity: Cyber Com, Offline Com and (S)extortion Com.
“Cyber Com is focused on activities such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, doxing, swatting and ransomware attacks,” Europol wrote in a report published earlier this month. “Offline Com groups are mostly focused on committing attacks in real life, such as arson, stabbings or murders.”
(S)extortion Com groups groom and extort primarily underage girls into performing sexual or violent acts, which are recorded and then used to coerce them into committing increasingly horrific or degrading acts, Europol said.
The group’s spinoff, 764, was described by the U.S. Department of Justice as “a violent online network that seeks to destroy civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations.”
The notorious ransomware gang known as ShinyHunters, which was behind the hacks of Las Vegas resorts and British retailers, is also believed to have emerged from The Com.
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