An INTERPOL-coordinated cybercrime crackdown spanning 20 African countries has led to 1,462 arrests and the recovery of $105 million. Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky was among the private sector partners that supplied threat intelligence.
The third edition of Operation Serengeti ran from 29 June to 31 August. It brought together investigators from across the continent and the US to tackle cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), online scams and digital extortion.
The operation identified nearly 66,000 victims of the criminal networks it targeted. Financial investigators estimate their losses at $385 million. Authorities also disrupted nearly 11,000 malicious networks involved in cyber offences.
Uganda recorded the largest single haul. Authorities dismantled two transnational fraud rings and arrested 365 foreign nationals linked to online investment and pension fraud schemes targeting victims across Asia.
In Angola, investigators shut down two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres and arrested nine suspects.
In Nigeria, authorities arrested a suspect behind a large-scale phishing and BEC operation that harvested software credentials and amassed about 2.1 million email addresses. A separate Nigerian investigation into an international investment fraud scheme promoted via messaging apps led to another arrest.
“Cybercrime networks operate without regard for borders, exploiting technology to target victims on an unprecedented scale,” says Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s director of cybercrime.
“Operation Serengeti III reinforces a clear message: while cybercrime is increasingly borderless, international cooperation remains one of the most effective tools for disrupting criminal networks, recovering criminal assets and protecting communities from digital harm.”
In the run-up to the operation, Kaspersky’s Threat Research expertise centre gave investigators threat intelligence and technical analysis to help identify targets and map criminal networks. This included data on network infrastructure used in botnet and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and on phishing and malicious URLs targeting African users.
“The borderless nature of cybercrime makes it impossible for a single organisation or country to confront it on its own,” says Yuliya Shlychkova, vice-president of global public affairs at Kaspersky.
“This is why Kaspersky is actively cooperating with partners around the globe to share its deep knowledge of cyberthreats.”
Several investigations from the operation remain active, with authorities working to identify more suspects, trace illicit proceeds and analyse seized digital evidence.
The participating countries were Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, alongside the US.
The operation is the latest in a string of INTERPOL-led cybercrime actions on the continent, as African countries face mounting losses from online fraud.
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By Nixon Kanali
Tech journalist based in Nairobi. I track and report on tech and African startups. Founder and Editor of TechTrends Media. Nixon is also the East African tech editor for Africa Business Communities. Send tips to kanali@techtrendsmedia.co.ke.