Genesis Market, a marketplace where hackers could buy stolen credentials and digital browser fingerprints, was taken down by the FBI and other law enforcement organizations worldwide.
On Wednesday, the FBI publicized the arrests under the codename “Operation Cookie Monster.” The notification states that an FBI seizure warrant issued by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin has confiscated the Genesis Market domains.
The notification claims that in addition to the FBI, law enforcement agencies from the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, Germany, Poland, and Sweden participated in the takedown.
Over 120 suspects were apprehended, and 200 locations were searched worldwide throughout the operation. Two males, ages 34 and 36, were among the 19 people the UK’s National Crime Agency claimed they detained for using the site fraudulently and illegally. They also said that after collecting Genesis Market’s databases, authorities found information on around 59,000 customers.
The FBI has also supplied “millions” of email addresses and passwords from the Genesis Market to the data breach notification website Have I Been Pwned so that internet users may discover whether their accounts have been stolen.
Since 2017, hackers have been able to sell stolen passwords, cookies, and digital browser fingerprints on Genesis Market, an invite-only internet marketplace. These fingerprints, or “bots,” contained IP addresses, session cookies, plugins, and operating system characteristics, allowing attackers to spoof victims’ browsers and gain unauthorized access to their online banking and subscription services like Amazon and Netflix.
Before it was taken down, Genesis stated that it would maintain these browser fingerprints for as long as it had access to a hacked device.
The marketplace was seized since the number of infected gadgets for sale increased.
According to the FBI, since its start, Genesis Market has provided users with access to over 80 million account login credentials obtained from more than 1.5 million infected computers throughout the globe. Losses are estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars, while the FBI estimates that Genesis has gained at least $8.7 million from the sale of stolen credentials.
This follows last year’s announcement by U.S. law enforcement of the shutdown of SSNDOB, a black market for selling personal information, including Social Security numbers belonging to millions of People.
