Police in Britain have arrested 24 people in connection to an international law enforcement action against ‘Genesis Market,” an online forum that sold stolen information. Photo courtesy of U.K. National Crime Agency
April 5 (UPI) — Law enforcement agencies from 17 nations have taken down Genesis Market, one of the world’s largest online marketplaces for stolen financial information.
U.S. and British law enforcement officials made dozens of arrests and seized domain names, and the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Genesis Market.
“Working across 45 of our FBI Field Offices and alongside our international partners, the Justice Department has launched an unprecedented takedown of a major criminal marketplace that enabled cybercriminals to victimize individuals, businesses, and governments around the world,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release Wednesday.
“Our seizure of Genesis Market should serve as a warning to cybercriminals who operate or use these criminal marketplaces: the Justice Department and our international partners will shut down your illegal activities, find you, and bring you to justice.”
According to Britain’s National Crime Agency, the Genesis Market hosted approximately 80 million stolen credentials. The platform would provide customers with bots that would mimic victims’ login information and cookies to allow fraudsters to access victims’ accounts, including financial information.
“Genesis Marketplace was unique in that it provided users with a custom browser, which would mimic that of their victim. This allowed the criminals to essentially masquerade as the victim, making it look like they were accessing their accounts from the usual location and operating system, thus not triggering security measures,” The National Crime Agency said in a news release Wednesday.
The police operation involved Britain’s National Crime Agency and was lead by the FBI and Dutch police.
“Behind every cybercriminal or fraudster is the technical infrastructure that provides then with the tools to execute their attacks and the means to benefit financially from their offending,” said Rob Jones of Britain’s National Crime Agency.
“Genesis Market was a prime example of such a service and was one of the most significant platforms on the criminal market,” he continued.
At least 24 people were arrested in Britain, according to the National Crime Agency. Across multiple countries, over 120 people were arrested in connection with the joint police action.
On Tuesday, U.S. law enforcement seized 11 web domains associated with Genesis Market in an action dubbed “Operation Cookie Monster.”
Additionally, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Genesis Market “for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, cyber-enabled activities … that are reasonably likely to result in, or have materially contributed to, a significant threat to national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States.
“The United States and our international partners will not allow illicit marketplaces to operate with impunity,” said Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.