[Back to the takedown index](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns)

# Ramnit botnet disruption

February 2015, Malware and botnets

Extended pass entry, last reviewed August 21, 2026

What was taken down?

Servers and domains supporting the botnet were taken under law-enforcement control and routed to a sinkhole.

[See what happened](#what-happened)

What happened to the people?

No individual outcomes are recorded against this entry.
Group accounted for: Not applicable

[See people and accountability](#people)

Did it stay down?

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

[See what happened afterward](#afterward)

## What happened

A Europol-supported coalition of European national police and security-industry partners disrupted Ramnit botnet infrastructure, which Europol estimated had infected roughly 3.2 million computers.

**Date:** February 2015

**Target:** Ramnit, botnet

**Activity:** Malware and botnets

**Operational lead:** Not established

**Partners**

Europol[[1]](#source-1)

- [European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/european-union-agency-for-law-enforcement-cooperation), coordinator

**Jurisdiction:** Not established

**Outcome:** Servers and domains supporting the botnet were taken under law-enforcement control and routed to a sinkhole.

**Status:** Completed

**Legal mechanism:** Coordinated national judicial/search-and-seizure authority; exact statute per country not publicly detailed.

**Group accounted for:** Not applicable

## People and accountability

No individual is named against this entry in the cited record. That is a gap in what has been published rather than a finding that nobody was involved.

Group accounted for: Not applicable

The cited record does not say how large the group was or whether everyone involved has been identified.

Europol estimated approximately 3.2 million infected computers.

[See the organizations and roles behind this action](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/ramnit-botnet-disruption/organizations)

## What happened afterward

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

## Sources

Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them.

### Official sources

1.
[Ramnit botnet disruption announcement](https://takedownindex.org/sources/europol-ramnit-botnet-disruption-announcement)

Europol, February 24, 2015, Source grade P2

Establishes the Europol-coordinated Ramnit infrastructure disruption and the 3.2 million infection estimate.

No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher.

Coverage note. Added from deep-research aggregation pass. Not independently re-verified source-by-source to the same standard as the original 38-incident core; source\_quality capped at S2/P2 pending a dedicated verification pass.

Research context

## How this entry was checked

This entry came from a broader aggregation pass and has not been independently verified source by source. Its sources are graded no higher than P2 or S2, and most carry no address yet. Treat the figures as a research lead rather than a settled record.

Source review: Extended pass, not yet verified

Sources cited: 1

Research cutoff: August 20, 2026

Last reviewed August 21, 2026

See also

[About the Internet Takedown Index](https://takedownindex.org/about)

Related entries

- [Simda botnet disruption](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/simda-botnet-disruption)
- [Operation Source / Beebone botnet disruption](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-source-beebone-botnet-disruption)
- [Dridex/Bugat/Cridex disruption](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/dridex-bugat-cridex-disruption)

Report updates or corrections

Help keep this record accurate.

[Submit feedback](https://takedownindex.org/about#corrections-and-updates)