A cybercrime data centre that was shut down by German authorities was housed inside a former NATO bunker in a sleepy riverside town.
The police arrested 13 people between the ages of 20 and 59 allegedly tied to the operation.
More than 600 law enforcement personnel including Germany’s elite federal police unit, the GSG 9, were involved in an anti-cybercrime operation that took place in the town of Traben-Trarbach on the banks of the Mosel river.
Police officers succeeded in penetrating the building, a 5,000 square meter former NATO bunker with iron doors that goes five floors deep underground. The building was located on a 1.3-hectare property secured with a fence and surveillance cameras.
The target of the operation was a so-called “bulletproof hosting” service provider. Bulletproof hosters provide IT infrastructure that protects online criminal activity from government intervention.
In the raid, police seized 200 servers along with documents, cell phones, and large quantities of cash. Thursday’s operation was the first time German investigators were able to apprehend a bulletproof hoster, according to German media outlets.
Via DW
