June 2nd, 2025

The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) has identified Vitaly Nikolaevich Kovalev as the alleged leader of the Trickbot and Conti cybercrime gangs, known for using various malware variants including Ryuk and Diavol, and for infecting hundreds of thousands of systems worldwide to obtain significant funds. This identification follows leaks like TrickLeaks and ContiLeaks which exposed Kovalev's leadership and contributed to Conti's shutdown. In a related effort under Operation Endgame, international law enforcement took down AVCheck, a service cybercriminals used to test malware against antivirus software, highlighting the ecosystem of counter antivirus and crypting services used to make malware undetectable. Separately, companies such as Victoria's Secret are experiencing security incidents, which led to them taking down their website and some in-store services as a precaution while they investigate. These incidents are part of a broader trend affecting retailers, with groups like DragonForce and Scattered Spider linked to attacks on companies like Marks & Spencer, Dior, and Adidas.