On Tuesday, a hacker-for-hire marketplace that was responsible for the sale of millions of stolen accounts was taken offline in an international crackdown initiative dubbed “Operation Cookie Monster”. The operation involved law enforcement from three continents and was led by Europol.
The crackdown targeted Infraud, a dark-web hacking forum that facilitated the buying and selling of stolen credit card and identities. Infraud had more than 11,000 members and had been operational since 2010, making it one of the largest online criminal activities of its kind.
The forum provided its services to cybercriminals around the world, allowing them to purchase stolen items in bulk. The items included credit card numbers, accounts, logins, and other personal information. It is estimated that over $2.2 billion in damages had been facilitated by the website over its 8-year history.
The forum was based in Ukraine and run by a group of Russian-speaking cybercriminals. It was taken down by the Department of Justice Cybercrime division in partnership with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the US Secret Service, Interpol, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The takedown has been highly praised by the security community as it marks one of the largest law enforcement operations ever on a dark-web hacker marketplace. According to Europol, over 100 people were arrested and over 500,000 stolen credit card details had been recovered.
The operation sends a clear message to online criminals. It shows that law enforcement is getting increasingly better at tracking and prosecuting cybercriminals, even on the dark web.
While it is unclear whether any of the stolen information has been used in any crimes yet, the chances are that it will be used in the future if not monitored. In response to the takedown, organizations are encouraged to ramp up their cyber security and implement better procedures for monitoring potential risks.
Although the takedown of Infraud is undoubtedly a huge step forward, it does not mark the end of cyber crime. Infraud was just one of hundreds of dark web marketplaces that facilitate the sale of stolen information. However, it should still be seen as a victory for security and law enforcement, showing that they are making progress in tackling cybercrime.
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