A massive investigation involving 17 countries, including Canada, has led to the shutdown of an online marketplace that was allegedly selling stolen account credentials to hackers worldwide.
Ontario Provincial Police say the FBI-led cybercrime investigation – dubbed Operation Cookie Monster – involved police services across Canada and around the world working together over the last four years to take down the allegedly illicit online criminal market known as the Genesis Market.
“The FBI estimates that by April 2022, 1.5 million devices connected to financial sectors, critical infrastructure, and various governments worldwide had been infected by malware,” the OPP alleged in a statement released Wednesday. “Through that malware, Genesis Market compiled stolen data such as email addresses, usernames and passwords and packaged this data for sale.”
The OPP said the FBI shared information in February with the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre (NC3) and other Ontario police services, identifying several suspects in an assortment of jurisdictions who were believed to have purchased illicitly-obtained information through Genesis Market.
“(On Tuesday) officers conducted enforcement action, including three search warrants at various locations in Ontario,” the OPP said. “Electronic devices have been seized and will undergo detailed examinations.”
“The investigations are ongoing,” the OPP added.