The takedown of First VPN is an important reminder that cybercrime does not rely only on malware developers and ransomware operators. It also depends heavily on infrastructure providers that help criminals hide their location, anonymize activity, and sustain attacks. According to the report, law enforcement seized 33 servers linked to First VPN, took down domains including 1vpns.com, 1vpns.net, and 1vpns.org, disrupted key infrastructure, and identified a Ukrainian suspect.

This operation is significant because First VPN was reportedly used in ransomware, fraud, and data theft investigations, and Europol said the service appeared in almost every major cybercrime investigation it supported. Investigators also collected traffic data before the service went offline, identified users, and shared intelligence internationally, including information on 506 users and 83 intelligence packages. So much for “no logs, no cooperation, no consequences,” the usual criminal marketing brochure printed in invisible ink. 

For organizations, the lesson is that attacker infrastructure can be disrupted, but replacement infrastructure can appear quickly. Security teams should continue monitoring for suspicious VPN, proxy, VPS, Tor, and anonymization traffic, especially around remote access portals, exposed applications, admin panels, and identity systems. Access from privacy VPNs or unusual hosting networks should trigger stronger verification, risk-based MFA, geo-anomaly checks, and session monitoring. 

The broader message is clear: disrupting criminal infrastructure helps, but enterprises cannot rely on law enforcement takedowns as their defense strategy. Strong identity controls, DNS and web filtering, threat intelligence, behavioral detection, logging, and incident response readiness remain essential. Attackers use VPNs to hide where they are coming from; defenders need enough visibility to understand what they are doing once they arrive.

A virtual private network service called 'First VPN,' used in ransomware and data theft attacks, has been taken offline in a joint international law enforcement operation. [...]

Source: Police seize “First VPN” service used in ransomware, data theft attacks via Bleeping Computer — published 21 May 2026.