In an extensive coordinated effort led by Interpol, international law enforcement agencies have reportedly arrested 574 suspects in 19 countries across Africa involved in cybercrime operations. Operation Sentinel, conducted between October 27 and November 27, successfully recovered around $3 million by decrypting six ransomware variants and shutting down more than 6,000 malicious links. The top three cybercrimes identified during the crackdown included business email compromise (BEC), digital extortion, and ransomware.
The cases investigated during the operation were estimated to financial losses exceeding $21 million and included a long list of African nations including Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
