Europol identifies 8 cybercriminals tied to malware loader botnets

**Executive Summary:** Europol and German law enforcement announced Operation Endgame, seizing more than 100 servers and identifying eight individuals of Russian descent linked to major malware droppers/loaders (including Smokeloader and Trickbot); the suspects are accused of roles such as botnet administration, crypters, VPN infrastructure maintenance, and facilitating infostealers and ransomware campaigns, with four arrests reported and public requests for information on the fugitives.