Europol and its partners have executed the third phase of Operation Endgame, targeting and disabling a core part of the cybercrime supply chain that fuels malware, credential theft, and botnet-driven attacks. They dismantled 1,025 servers, seized 20 domains and arrested a key VenomRAT (remote access trojan) operator in Greece.
The operation focused on three high-impact tools:
- Rhadamanthys, a prolific infostealer.
- VenomRAT, which enables remote control of infected machines.
- Elysium, a botnet infrastructure marketed alongside Rhadamanthys.
The scale is striking: hundreds of thousands of compromised devices, millions of stolen credentials, and over 100,000 cryptocurrency wallets tied to the suspects—potentially worth millions.
For MSPs, this is an opportunity to reframe how you engage with clients, articulate your value, and embed trust.
Why Operation Endgame 3 Is a Big Deal for MSPs
1. Disrupting the Malware Supply Chain
Until now, many cybercrime operations have operated like legitimate businesses—malware-as-a-service, infostealer subscriptions, and bulletproof hosting. By taking out the infrastructure providers, law enforcement cracked open that business model.
For MSPs, this means two things:
- A potential drop in certain types of threat activity in the short term.
- But, perhaps more importantly, a redistribution of criminal actors to new infrastructure—meaning vigilance and adaptability remain essential.
2. Public-Private Partnership Power Play
Operation Endgame isn’t just cops—over 30 national and international private cyber-security firms joined the effort. Europol name-checked Cryptolaemus, Shadowserver and RoLR, Spycloud, Cymru, Proofpoint, Crowdstrike, Lumen, Abuse.ch, HaveIBeenPwned, Spamhaus, DIVD, Trellix and Bitdefender.
As an MSP or MSSP, you’re part of that ecosystem too. This kind of collaboration sets a new benchmark: law enforcement + threat intel + MSSPs working together to dismantle crime infrastructure.
3. A Reputation Boost for Security Providers
When MSPs talk to clients, some C-level execs worry: “Will we be the next victim?” but many believe: “It will never happen to me.”
The Endgame takedown is proof that the international system can strike back at scale, but it is also a reminder of how wide-reaching the cybercriminal network is.
How MSPs Can Turn This Into Business Momentum
Here are three actionable strategies MSPs can lean into—aligned with this moment—to deepen trust, generate new business, and strengthen client relationships.
1. Make It a Conversation Driver
Use the Endgame story to educate clients:
- Run a webinar: “Why the Latest Europol Take-Down Matters to Your Business.”
- Prepare client-facing reports or newsletters that break down what was disrupted, what it means for their risk profile, and how your team is responding.
- Use it to introduce scenario planning or security exercises
This positions your MSP as not just a tech provider, but as a strategic partner in cyber resilience.
2. Lean Into Threat Intelligence
MSPs with threat-intel capabilities should be especially vocal now:
- Highlight your connections to law-enforcement-backed intel (or the tools you use that were part of the crackdown).
- Offer threat-hunting services powered by your insight into re-emerging malware families.
- Develop client playbooks for rapid response—for example, what to do if a client’s environment shows signs of infostealer activity.
By aligning your services with the same intelligence that helped bring down these 1,000+ servers, you amplify your legitimacy and value.
3. Build Client Trust Through Transparency
Use this enforcement moment as a trust anchor:
- Encourage clients to run checks if they suspect compromise
- Offer a Regular Health Review: “Given this shift in the threat landscape, here’s what we recommend for your backup, detection, and response posture.”
- Share end-of-year threat landscape briefings, positioning the operation as a turning point and underscoring your proactive role.
Why European MSPs Are Particularly Well-Placed
- Proximity to Enforcement: With multiple European governments (Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, France, Denmark) at the heart of Operation Endgame, European MSPs are uniquely close to the enforcement narrative. Use that geographic alignment when talking to clients.
- Regulatory Momentum: Europe’s regulatory environment (GDPR, NIS 2, cyber-resilience frameworks) makes reputational damage from a breach more severe. MSPs can lean into this to demonstrate that they’re not only protecting clients but helping them meet regulatory and compliance demands.
- Cross-border Opportunity: Many European MSPs already serve clients beyond national borders. As global cybercrime infrastructure is disrupted, your value proposition becomes about resilience—not just in one country, but across the region.
The Big Picture: Why This Moment Matters for Anyone Running an MSP
For MSPs, this is a marketing, trust, and technical moment. You can use real-world disruption to guide business conversations, improve client security posture, and differentiate your services.
Operation Endgame 3 shows that even the backbone of sophisticated cybercrime—infostealer networks, botnets, and RATs—can be disrupted. MSPs who proactively translate this into client value don’t just protect infrastructure—they build long-term relationships rooted in trust, intelligence, and shared purpose.
