The US and French authorities have confirmed the arrests of five hackers accused of being behind several large hacks and are part of a notorious cyber crime forum.
On Thursday, the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of the British National Kai West, 25, accusing him of being a “serial hacker” known as Intelbroker. The US authorities claim that West is behind the “hacking hacking program, which has caused more than $ 25 million compensation, targeting more than 40 victims, including a telecommunications company, a municipal health care provider and an internet service provider.
In the case of the healthcare provider, Doj claims that West has tried to sell personal information of the patient, including names, social security numbers, birth dates, gender, health plan and employer information.
According to Doj, the West was the leader of a hacking group known as “Cybern[——]”, Referring to a racist bitterness, who visited” a particular internet forum. “While the doj did not name the forum, the complaint includes details that violate reporting violations, which previously closed from a coalition of enforcement services in international law 2023.
The DOJ Press Release said West was arrested in France earlier in February and is now facing the United States.
In accordance with complaint Against the West, Cybern[——] The group included four other people whom the US authorities have not called.
These four people appear to have been arrested in France earlier this week.
On Wednesday, the public prosecutor of Paris Laure Beccuau said in a statement This French police arrested four people suspected that they are running violations and was part of a collective called “Shinyhunters”.
“This week’s arrests are aimed at people who suspect that they were the main administrators of the site and have hoped for their permanent closure,” Beccuau said, according to a press release.
The prosecutor also confirmed the West, named only in the statement as an Intelbroker, was arrested in France in February, which is in line with what US authorities announced on Thursday.
When he arrived for comments, a spokesman for the French prosecutor’s French office reported Techcrunch in his published statement.
Answering a question about the four anonymous co-conspirators, US justice ministry spokesman Nicholas Biase said he could not comment on “people who have not been charged” and refused to clarify in an email.
Breachforums was one of the most famous hacking forums on the internet, where cyberspace were selling hacking tools, as well as advertised, sold and traded by companies such as 23andme and many others.
In 2023, US federal authorities occupied and closed the Breachforums, three months after the arrest of its manager, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, also known as “Pompompurin”. The site was then restarted, but was seized and closed again in 2024.
The West is accused of conspiracy for committing computer invasions, conspiracy to commit cable fraud, access to a protected computer to obtain information and fraud.
