Trend Micro has helped INTERPOL and the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission catch the leader of a notorious Nigerian cyber criminal ring that has caused US$60 million worth of losses through business email compromise scams and CEO fraud.

Trend Micro says it provided research that helped bring down the leader, who is suspected of running a 40-person network across Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa.

The network distributes malware and attacks, while the leader is also suspected of playing a part in money laundering across China, Europe and the United States.

“Trend Micro is a strong proponent of public-private partnerships in the constant battle against cybercriminals. We have a collective adversary in those who mean to do harm via technology, and we at Trend Micro do all we can to support law enforcement in apprehending and prosecuting these attackers. This is another a milestone for the cybersecurity community working together," says Raimund Genes, chief technology officer at Trend Micro.

Trend Micro's research comprised a paper titled From Cybercrime to Cyberspying: Using Limitless Keylogger and Predator Pain, which was used by INTERPOL to understand the Predator Pain and Limitless keyloggers, both of which were used to deploy 419 scams, Nigerian scams and business email compromise scams.

“Arrests like this are made possible by partnerships between members of the security community which come together with the common goal of making the internet a safer place. BEC scams are particularly difficult to combat due to their complexity, which is why public-private sector cooperation is essential," says Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation.

Trend Micro is one of INTERPOL's strategic partners. Through its Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore, the company provides INTERPOL and its member countries with knowledge, resources and strategies to investigate cyber crime.