Police boast of hacking VPN where criminals "believed themselves to be safe"
European law enforcement has successfully dismantled a VPN service known as First VPN, which was used by cybercriminals for various illegal activities. The operation, led by France and the Netherlands with support from Europol, resulted in the seizure of the VPN's domain and the arrest of its operator. Thousands of users who believed they were safe while using the service have been identified as part of the investigation.
- ▪Europol announced the dismantling of First VPN, a service used for ransomware attacks and other crimes.
- ▪The operation revealed thousands of users linked to cybercrime activities worldwide.
- ▪First VPN was promoted on Russian-speaking forums as a trusted tool for evading law enforcement.
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Plenty of logs Police boast of hacking VPN where criminals “believed themselves to be safe” Law enforcement intercepted VPN traffic, seized domains, and arrested its operator. Jon Brodkin – May 22, 2026 2:43 pm | 2 Screenshot of the First VPN website after its domain was seized. Screenshot of the First VPN website after its domain was seized. Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav European law enforcement say they hacked into a VPN (virtual private network) service used for ransomware attacks and other crimes, and identified thousands of users before shutting the VPN down and arresting its administrator.
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