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A British antheral accused of operating nether the alias “IntelBroker” connected cybercrime forums has been indicted for allegedly selling stolen information successful a lawsuit that caused much than $25 cardinal successful damages
The US Southern District of New York Attorney’s Office announced Kai West’s indictment connected Wednesday. West allegedly operated connected online achromatic markets nether the IntelBroker pseudonym and caused successful excess of $25 cardinal successful damages to victims.
Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman and lawyer Jay Clayton was among the radical liable for unsealing the indictment. “This enactment reflects the FBI’s committedness to pursuing cybercriminals astir the world,” helium said.
West reportedly conspired with online radical to bargain the information from a telecommunications institution CyberN***ers to bargain information from aggregate companies. Those included a telecommunications company, a municipal healthcare provider, an net work supplier and implicit 40 different corporations.
Undercover acquisition triggered charges
According to the complaint, an undercover instrumentality enforcement cause sent a backstage connection to IntelBroker to acquisition information of a unfortunate for $250 worthy of Bitcoin (BTC). An code attributed to West was provided, and aft the payment, the information was delivered, allegedly including 3 admin-level usernames and passwords.
West and his online collaborators reportedly offered the illicitly acquired information for merchantability for implicit $2 million. He was past arrested successful France successful February, and the US is presently seeking his extradition.
FBI Assistant Director successful Charge Christopher Raia claimed that West is simply a “serial hacker” and that helium was capable to “sell it for millions successful illicit funds.” IntelBroker was active connected the now-defunct cybercrime forum BreachForums.
Related: Coinbase information leak could enactment users successful carnal danger: TechCrunch founder
According to the announcement, a reappraisal of the 158 threads allegedly started by West offered stolen information for sale, successful Forum-1 credits (BreachForums’ interior currency), arsenic good arsenic for free. He was reportedly progressive from astir January 2023 to February 2025, with astatine slightest 41 of his threads selling information from companies based successful the US.
Of those 158 threads, 16 posts included a circumstantial asking terms for the data, reaching a full of astatine slightest $2,467,000. Messages allegedly written by West besides showed that helium accepted payments via privateness coin Monero (XMR).
IntelBroker achieved notoriety connected BreachForums to the grade that helium was identified arsenic the site’s proprietor starting successful August 2024.
IntelBroker’s illustration image. Source: US Attorney’s OfficeRelated: Millions of OpenSea idiosyncratic emails leaked successful 2022 present afloat public: SlowMist
Data leaks and breaches proceed happening
The quality follows the caller leak of much than 16 cardinal login credentials from starring online work providers, which could person imaginable consequences for cryptocurrency holders. Earlier this month, it was reported that Coinbase was informed successful January that an worker of an outsourcing steadfast may person leaked lawsuit data.
The breach was disclosed successful mid-May, erstwhile a $20 cardinal extortion effort deed Coinbase after cybercriminals recruited overseas enactment agents to leak idiosyncratic data. “These insiders abused their entree to lawsuit enactment systems to bargain the relationship information for a tiny subset of customers,” Coinbase said astatine the time.
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