Public-private cyber operation disrupts ransomware, digital extortion, and business email compromise schemes across 19 African nations

Team Cymru today announced its support role in Operation Sentinel, a coordinated INTERPOL effort that led to 574 arrests, the recovery of approximately USD 3 million, and the disruption of multiple cybercrime networks across Africa.

Conducted from 27 October to 27 November, Operation Sentinel focused on three of the fastest-growing categories of cybercrime affecting organizations across the region: business email compromise, digital extortion, and ransomware. These threat types were identified as high-priority risks in INTERPOL’s 2025 Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report. Through coordinated intelligence sharing and rapid operational collaboration, law enforcement partners were able to disrupt attacks, prevent financial losses, and preserve critical services.

During the month-long operation, investigators removed more than 6,000 malicious links, decrypted six ransomware variants, and addressed cases tied to an estimated USD 21 million in attempted and realized losses.

Highlights from participating countries include:

• Senegal: Authorities blocked a fraudulent USD 7.9 million transfer involving a petroleum company targeted through business email compromise.
• Ghana: Law enforcement developed a decryption tool to recover nearly 30 terabytes of data following a major ransomware attack, and arrested multiple suspects.
• Ghana and Nigeria: A cross-border fraud network impersonating major fast-food brands was dismantled, impacting more than 200 victims.
• Benin: Authorities removed 43 malicious domains and shut down 4,318 social media accounts tied to extortion campaigns, resulting in 106 arrests.
• Cameroon: Investigators traced a phishing operation to compromised infrastructure and initiated rapid freezes on associated bank accounts.

Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, said:

“The scale and sophistication of cyberattacks across Africa are accelerating, especially against critical sectors like finance and energy. The outcomes from Operation Sentinel reflect the commitment of African law enforcement agencies, working in close coordination with international partners. Their actions have successfully protected livelihoods, secured sensitive personal data and preserved critical infrastructure.”

Operation Sentinel brought together INTERPOL and several private-sector partners, including Team Cymru, The Shadowserver Foundation, Trend Micro, TRM Labs, and Uppsala Security. Team Cymru provided intelligence support that helped track malicious infrastructure, map criminal behavior, and accelerate investigations across jurisdictions.

“Operations like Sentinel show the power of trusted collaboration,” said Jacomo Piccolini, Manager of Outreach at Team Cymru. “Cybercrime is global, but so is the community working to stop it. We’re proud to help deliver the visibility needed to protect economies, institutions, and citizens.”

Operation Sentinel was coordinated under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC) and supported through the Global Action on Cybercrime Enhanced project (GLACY-e).

Participating nations included: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

ABOUT TEAM CYMRU

Team Cymru is the trusted intelligence partner to the world’s most targeted organizations, transforming unmatched global visibility into actionable insights that protect nations, businesses, and communities. Powered by Pure Signal™, the largest source of context-rich telemetry beyond the network edge, Team Cymru empowers defenders by reducing noise, accelerating decision-making, and driving real-world outcomes. From threat hunting and CTI to third-party risk and national defense, our solutions provide instant clarity and unmatched visibility. Through our Community Services, we also deliver no-cost threat detection, DDoS mitigation, and intelligence to over 177 CSIRTs across 85+ countries. Learn more at https://team-cymru.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260108946528/en/