The French and Dutch law enforcement seized a large-scale virtual private network (VPN) service catering to cybercriminals, offering services to mask their illicit activities of scanning, botnets, denial of service attacks, scams, hacking and ransomware attacks.

Under the banner name "Operation Saffron," the authorities shuttered 33 critical servers of the First VPN service provider during the seizure and detained the alleged administrator of the service in Ukraine, in a coordinated operation.

First VPN advertised itself as a provider of anonymity, assuring its users non-cooperation with any law enforcement authorities, zero data storage, and no jurisdiction issues. The VPN Service was...