FBI Launches Dark Web Genesis Market, Often Disguised As Twitter And PayPal

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies in the United States (US) managed to confiscate the name of the Genesis Market domain. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement agencies in the United States (US) managed to confiscate the name of the Genesis Market domain, the main dark web market for stolen personal data. Criminals can also disguise themselves as customers on the website from Amazon to Fidelity.

After successfully taking over in the Cookie Monster operation, the Genesis Market homepage has been replaced with an FBI notification stating the Website Has Been Confiscated.

There are also a dozen logos of law enforcement agencies, which show the operation involves police forces in various countries, including Canada, Sweden, France, Germany, Europe, Australia and others.

Since its founding in 2018, Genesis Market is one of the largest cybercrime facilitators. Its main criminal commodity is digital identity.

The banned website offers bots. This bot is basically a stolen credential package taken from erinfection computers around the world. Including information from automation form, stored login information, and small digital files known as cookies, where it is used by the company to track user activity online.

Genesis Market administrators obtained this victim data through the spread of malware and account takeover attacks. Then, the Genesis Market will give its customers a special browser based on the Google Chromium project.

Where bad actors adopt internet persona from hacked individuals, loading unique data stored in automated-filled cookies and passwords to disguise themselves as users, such as legitimate users of the main platform, including Dropbox, PayPal, Microsoft, Twitter and a number of cryptocurrency exchanges.

CNBC International said, quoted on Thursday, April 6, the bot could sell for $44 (IDR 6.7 million) per piece. Hacked data with lower quality that is still on the market can cost just 4 or 5 US dollars.

According to a Netacea report in 2021, at least 350,000 bots are available on the Genesis Market. At the time of removal, the platform advertised stolen account credentials from about 460,000 computer devices located in almost every country in the world.

It is known that Genesis Market customers are located around the world and actively buy stolen victim data packages to this removal.

The FBI has been working with its law enforcement partners to identify Genesis Market users who have purchased and used stolen access credentials to commit fraud and other cybercrimes.

This Cookie Monster operation has succeeded in arresting more than 100 suspects and 200 property searches carried out in 13 countries. In addition, the main infrastructure and domains of criminal sites were also confiscated and torn down.