First VPN Seized by European Authorities Over Organized Crime Links
The FBI said the VPN had been used by 'at least 25 ransomware groups,' including Avaddon, for activities including botnet operations, denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, scams, and hacking.
First VPN Seized by European Authorities Over Organized Crime Links | PCMag
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(Credit: Europol )
A VPN that was reportedly extremely popular among organized criminal groups has been taken down and seized following a collaborative investigation led by France and the Netherlands, dubbed “Operation Saffron.” It was supported by European Union anti-crime agencies Europol and Eurojust.The service, known as ‘First VPN,’ had reportedly been “deeply embedded” in the cybercrime ecosystem and appeared in “almost every major cybercrime investigation” supported by Europol in recent years. First VPN was promoted on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums as a tool to evade law enforcement and enabled anonymous payments, among other features designed specifically for criminal use.The agencies have now dismantled 33 servers linked to the criminal service in 27 countries. As a result of the takedown, investigators across multiple jurisdictions are now using the intelligence gathered to further their investigations. The operation revealed information linked to 506 users worldwide, as well as 21 ongoing Europol-supported investigations. The agencies didn’t reveal the identity of those behind the service, but said they interviewed the administrator and conducted a house search in Ukraine. You May Also Like
Though FirstVPN explicitly marketed its services toward criminals, we’ve also seen the founders and executives of some mainstream VPN companies face legal scrutiny from European authorities in recent years as a result of allegations that their services were used in criminal activity.The founder of Windscribe VPN, Yegor Sak, was personally hit with criminal charges in 2022 by Greek prosecutors after Windscribe VPN was allegedly used in an attack on a server in Greece, though he was later acquitted in early 2025.Meanwhile, the offices of Mullvad VPN in Gothenburg, Sweden, were visited by police in 2023 with a search warrant intended to seize computers containing customer data. However, Mullvad said police left empty-handed because the company did not store customer activity logs.Dutch police explained that First VPN was classified as a criminal service because it “mainly advertised on the cybercriminal forums known to the police and thus expressly approached cybercriminals as potential clients.” Recommended by Our Editors Europol Goes After Orgs Behind 3 Malware Strains, Takes Down 1,000+ Servers The Best VPN Services for 2026 Ransomware Attack Closes Clinics Across Mississippi, Cancels Surgeries
They also pointed out how the now-archived website said “cooperation with the judiciary would be denied,” claimed the service was not subject to any jurisdiction, and stated that no data on users was stored.An FBI report said that “at least 25 ransomware groups, such as Avaddon Ransomware, have used First VPN Service infrastructure to perform network reconnaissance and intrusions.” The infrastructure was also allegedly used for scanning activity, botnets, denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, scams, and hacking.
About Our Expert Will McCurdy Contributor Experience I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs. Latest By Will McCurdy Still Using Your Chromecast? Google Says It Will Live On Amid Fears Apple May Be Preparing Mysterious New Over-Ear Headphones Meta Joins Snap, TikTok, YouTube in Settling Social Media Addiction Case Texas AG Sues WhatsApp for 'Lying About Privacy' Companies Using Anthropic's Mythos AI Uncover 10K+ Serious Software Bugs More from Will McCurdy Read Full Bio
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