FBI Operation Cookie Monster Dismantles Massive Stolen Login Market
Genesis Market Shutdown Disrupts Ransomware Hackers’ Playground
The FBI has successfully shut down Genesis Market, a leading marketplace for stolen logins, as part of an international operation called “Operation Cookie Monster” according to TechCrunch. The UK’s National Crime Agency reports that around 120 people across the globe were arrested during this operation, including 19 site users in the UK.
Today, the #FBI successfully disrupted Genesis Market, a dark market allowing users to commit cybercrimes by targeting victims worldwide and selling their stolen digital fingerprints. Read more about this collective effort at https://t.co/ROptLN7Jdx pic.twitter.com/JyqQEO0RI8
— FBI (@FBI) April 5, 2023
The FBI and the Justice Department have been contacted for comment. In a statement, the Justice Department refers to the takedown as a significant blow to ransomware, eliminating a “key enabler”. Apart from the US and UK, the operation involved law enforcement agencies from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, and European nations like Germany and Poland, with participation from Europol and Eurojust.
Launched in March 2018, Genesis Market traded in logins, cookies, and browser fingerprints collected from compromised systems. This enabled hackers to not only access accounts but also mimic web browsers, allowing them to gain entry without requiring passwords or two-factor authentication tokens. As long as Genesis had access to the victim’s devices, it could provide up-to-date data, a valuable asset for hackers who sometimes have to rely on outdated and potentially useless information.
Genesis Market has been linked to high-profile cybercrime incidents in the past. For instance, Motherboard reported that the attackers responsible for the 2021 EA hack claimed they purchased a $10 bot from Genesis to compromise a Slack account at the gaming company.
While the seizure and arrests won’t put an end to the illegal trade of login data, it is expected that many Genesis Market clients will turn to smaller marketplaces. This major crackdown could make it more challenging for cybercriminals to obtain the login details they require. Moreover, law enforcement has been ramping up efforts to disrupt ransomware networks directly, potentially making digital extortion more difficult than in previous months.
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