Three Midland men arrested in international cybercrime operation led by FBI

The men, aged 19, 20 and 23, were arrested from homes in Halesowen, Erdington and Newcastle-under-Lyme respectively, on suspicion of the unlawful use of a Remote Access Tool called 'Blackshades'. A fourth address was also raided in Wolverhampton.

The operation targeted BlackShades software which can remotely control computers and webcams. The 'malware' was said to have infected more than 500,000 computers since 2010.

People are typically infected by clicking on external links on social networking and communication platforms. Instead of viewing a picture or video, the victim unwittingly installs the malware. In many cases, those affected will have no indication they are infected.

Investigators believe that around 200,000 usernames and passwords of victims across the world may have been extracted by Blackshades users in the UK.

The three men arrested from the Midlands have now been released on police bail pending further enquiries. A number of seized items are being forensically examined.

Initiated by the FBI and coordinated in Europe through Eurojust and the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol, police forces internationally have apprehended dozens of suspected users.

It is understood that 15 arrests took place in England and two men were held in Scotland.

Eighty others were said to have been held in 15 countries including the US, France and Germany.

Det Insp Rob Harris, from the Regional Cyber Crime Unit, said "Law enforcement is now acutely aware of the threat posed by cyber criminality and this operation has demonstrated our ability to rise to that threat and go after those engaged in this type of offending.

"Work at a local, regional and national level is building our capability around cybercrime and the message is now clear; if you engage in any form cyber criminality UK policing has the capability to come after you."

The most common Blackshades product is a Remote Access Tool, which enables cyber criminals to remotely take over and control the operations of an infected computer and can be used to:

• Access the webcam of the victim, turning it on without the user’s knowledge and taking screen shots

• Access personal files and documents, and download new content

• Engage in unsolicited chat with the victim

• Infect USB devices to aid further spreading of malware

• Instruct the victim’s computer to help commit Distributed Denial of Service attacks

• Infect other computers via peer-to-peer communications

• Capture usernames and passwords inputted on a victim’s machine. The criminal can then view the stolen data in a similar way to an email inbox.

Andy Archibald, Deputy Director of the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit, said: "Criminals throughout the UK and across the world are finding out that committing crimes remotely offers no protection from arrest. The unique scale of this cyber operation shows what can happen when law enforcement agencies at local, national and international level work together to tackle the perpetrators and help keep people safe.

"Cyber crime is one of the most significant criminal threats to the UK. The NCA is helping to build the capacity of its partners across the country and coordinating the UK's collective efforts as part of the response. The commitment of our police partners in the cyber arena has been clearly demonstrated by the work culminating in this week's dramatic activity."

Anyone who is concerned about cybercrime, or wants to improve their own security can get more information and advice by visiting www.getsafeonline.org.

Those who believe they have lost money through malware should report it at www.actionfraud.police.uk.