Microsoft and Google dismantle major cybercrime marketplace RedVDS

As detailed in Tech Radar, a significant cybercrime marketplace known as RedVDS has been shut down through a collaborative effort between Microsoft and Google, facilitated by the Global Signal Exchange (GSE).

RedVDS operated as an online hub selling access to virtual machines (VMs) that were used by cybercriminals to launch a variety of attacks, including phishing and business email compromise scams. These VMs were designed to be quickly deleted, making them difficult to trace. Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit had been monitoring RedVDS, and in January 2026, secured court orders in the UK and US to seize its web domains. Leveraging threat data shared securely via the GSE, Google was able to identify and suspend related accounts on its platforms.

Servers associated with RedVDS were also impounded in Germany, with Europol taking action against European servers. Between September and December 2025, RedVDS-provided VMs targeted approximately 130,000 organizations, leading to the compromise of 191,000 Microsoft email accounts. The service was available for as little as $24 per month.

Source: Tech Radar