Following a multi-year investigation, the alleged administrator of the notorious Russian-speaking cybercrime forum, XSS.is, has been arrested in Kyiv, Ukraine. The operation was a collaborative effort between French and Ukrainian authorities, with significant support from Europol. XSS.is, formerly known as DaMaGeLaB, has been a prominent marketplace for cybercriminals since 2013, boasting over 50,000 registered users. The platform served as a central hub for the trade of stolen data, hacking tools, and various other illicit services, making it one of the most significant forums in the Russian-speaking cybercrime ecosystem.
The arrested individual is suspected of not only managing the technical aspects of the forum but also acting as a key facilitator of criminal activities. This included arbitrating disputes between cybercriminals and guaranteeing the security of their transactions. The administrator is also believed to have operated a secure messaging service, thesecure.biz, tailored for the needs of the cybercriminal underground. Through these alleged illicit activities, the suspect is estimated to have made over €7 million. The takedown of the forum’s infrastructure and the arrest of its administrator represent a significant blow to the cybercrime community that relied on the platform for its operations.
The investigation, initiated by the French Police in 2021, involved extensive monitoring of the forum’s activities and associated infrastructure. The collaborative effort between international law enforcement agencies highlights the global nature of cybercrime and the importance of cross-border cooperation in combating it. The seizure of the XSS.is domain and the arrest of its alleged administrator will likely disrupt the activities of numerous cybercriminal networks that used the platform to coordinate, advertise, and recruit for their malicious operations.
