The Genesis Market website for cybercrime seems to have been shut down as a result of a multinational law enforcement operation.
The domains associated with Genesis Market are currently displaying an image informing visitors that the website has been seized by the FBI based on a warrant issued by a Wisconsin court. A message posted by the FBI on the seized domains instructs those who have been in contact with Genesis administrators to contact the agency, suggesting that the site’s operators have yet to be identified or captured. Security blogger Brian Krebs reported that the law enforcement operation also involved dozens of arrests in the United States and other countries.
The Genesis marketplace has been around since late 2018, offering cybercriminals access to hundreds of thousands of so-called ‘bots’ that could be used to carry out malicious activities and bypass anti-fraud systems. These bots, which are actually browser fingerprints obtained by information-stealing malware, provide cybercriminals the credentials needed to access various services and systems while making it seem like the access request is coming from the legitimate user’s machine, thus avoiding triggering any alarms.
The takedown of Genesis Market was announced roughly two months after law enforcement announced shutting down the Hive ransomware operation. Europol, the UK’s National Crime Agency and other law enforcement agencies have started releasing information on Operation Cookie Monster, revealing that 120 individuals were arrested and over 200 searches have been carried out across several countries. Dutch police have released an online tool that tells users whether their data was sold on Genesis Market.
The Genesis Market takedown is a major win for law enforcement, as it highlights the growing importance of tackling cybercrime operations that target the digital identities of victims. It will be interesting to see how the FBI proceeds with the case and if the operators of Genesis are caught, as the scale of the operation they were running indicates that they will not be let off lightly.
Key Points:
- Genesis Market has been taken down as part of an international law enforcement operation dubbed ‘Cookie Monster’.
- The site has been offering cybercriminals access to ‘bots’ that could be used to carry out malicious activities and bypass anti-fraud systems.
- The takedown of Genesis Market was announced roughly two months after the Hive ransomware operation was shut down.
- Over 120 individuals have been arrested and over 200 searches have been carried out across several countries as part of Operation Cookie Monster.
- The FBI is yet to issue a statement on the seizure of Genesis Market, and the site’s operators have yet to be identified or captured.