An unprecedented police operation involving 17 countries has led to the dismantling of the Genesis market, one of the most dangerous markets in the world, agency Europol said in a statement.
Coordinated measures have also been taken worldwide against users of this platform. The strikes resulted in 119 arrests and 208 searches, 4 of which took place in Canada.
Twenty-eight Canadian Police Corps
This international crackdown was led by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Politie (National Police of the Netherlands) and Europol, who coordinated the work of the agents involved around the world.
In Canada, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) Cybercrime Investigation Service worked on this in collaboration with the FBI, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
A total of 28 police departments from coast to coast were involved in this consecutive global day of action, the RCMP said.
Why the CRTC?
If the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was involved in this investigation, it is because it is responsible for enforcing the provisions of Canada’s Anti-Spam Act.
Related penalties have so far totaled more than $1.9 million.
Among other things, this allows him to obtain search warrants to confiscate devices, online accounts and cryptocurrency wallets for investigation by forensic teams.
Effects also in Quebec
The investigation had implications for Quebec, where six people were arrested on Tuesday in connection with this case of international concern.
The suspects, four men and two women aged 21 to 37, could be charged with, among other things, unauthorized use of a computer and possession of a device for unauthorized use of a computer.
The searches led to the seizure of computer equipment and equipment used to produce forged documents.
Possibly many victims
In this operation, the SQ took responsibility for the survey targeting the most active users of Genesis Market in Quebec. The majority of the suspects identified during the operation in Canada reside in Quebec.
The provincial police coordinated with 11 Quebec police departments and met about 59 prospects, all Genesis Market users, we said in a press release.
“The Sûreté du Québec places great importance on cooperation between police organizations in Quebec, Canada and around the world. Cybercrime knows no borders, but thanks to this cooperation, investigations into this type of crime will also know no borders, as the operation carried out yesterday proves. »
– A quote from Lt. Jean Le Bel, Head of the Cybercrime Investigation Division of the SQ
Mr Lebel explained that the investigation involving the SQ began in February and that 175 agents had been working on it.
The majority of Genesis Market’s Canadian users live in Quebec, the RCMP said.
Photo: Europol
We don’t know the exact number of victims in Quebec, but we do know that there could be several, Radio-Canada legal affairs journalist Pascal Robidas said on Information Network (RDI) radio on Wednesday.
In 2022, reports submitted to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center revealed that $371 million was stolen through cyber fraud, accounting for 70% of all reported losses that year.
Resale of digital identities
Genesis Market’s main commodity was digital identities.
This marketplace sold bots (robots) that had previously infected victims’ devices through malware or account takeover attacks, the agency said in a statement.
Genesis Market owned 1.5 million robots at the time of the concerted international action.
By purchasing a bot, criminals had access to all data collected by it, such as fingerprints, cookies, saved logins, and autofill information (e.g. electronic forms).
This information was collected in real time, which means that buyers were informed of every change of password, for example.
“Through the combined efforts of all law enforcement agencies involved, we have seriously disrupted the criminal cyber ecosystem by removing one of its key factors. With victims located around the world, strong relationships with our international partners were critical to the success of this case. »
— A quote from Edvardas Šileris, Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre
At a low price
Its wide accessibility and good prices (starting at 70 US cents) had made it a preferred vendor among hackers, hence the urgency of action for investigators who have had Genesis Market on their radar since 2019.
Europol is a criminal investigation agency that facilitates the exchange of information between national police forces and specializes in drug, terrorism, international crime or sex crimes cases involving children.
With information from Agence France-Presse.