PANews reported on August 12th that, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. and international law enforcement agencies conducted a joint operation on July 24th, seizing four servers, nine domain names, and approximately $1 million in Bitcoin assets associated with a Russian ransomware ring. The operation targeted the BlackSuit and Royal ransomware strains, a group that has extorted over $500 million since 2022 and reaped at least $370 million in illegal profits. The frozen Bitcoin assets were partially derived from a $1.45 million ransom paid by victims in April 2023. U.S. officials stated that this action represents a significant blow to the ring's operations, and that the investigation is ongoing, with the possibility of additional charges.