Britain's National Crime Agency Cyber Division, with the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies seized control of websites used by Lockbit the gang and U.S. and British authorities said. The agencies also took the extraordinary step of using Lockbit's own website to release internal data about the group itself.

“We have hacked the hackers," Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Crime Agency, told journalists. "We have taken control of their infrastructure, seized their source code and obtained keys that will help victims decrypt their systems.”

The takedown, dubbed “Operation Cronos” was an international coalition of 10 countries, he said. “Together, we have arrested, indicted or sanctioned some of the perpetrators and we have gained unprecedented and comprehensive access to Lockbit’s systems”.