Global takedown hits network behind 1 billion phishing messages

A massive cybercriminal ecosystem facilitating more than a billion malicious messages targeting over 75,000 organizations across 150 countries has been disrupted by law enforcement agencies and partners worldwide.

Since the start of the year, more than 750 million malicious messages have been aimed at Microsoft customers via email and SMS texts.

Following an investigation initiated by Microsoft and Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) into a wave of fraudulent activity, "a sprawling Chinese-language cybercrime marketplace" was discovered, with tools and services for phishing campaigns.

The investigators traced the malicious activity to YAM Store (Storm-3119), an underground infrastructure marketplace, then linked it to the CoGUI, Haozi, and Iron Man System phishing kits, collectively tracked as Storm-2990.