European officials have confirmed the arrest of the alleged administrator behind XSS.is, one of the longest-running Russian-language cybercrime forums. Per Europol, the alleged administrator was arrested in Ukraine on Tuesday. A law enforcement notice on XSS now reads: “This domain has been seized.”
French Authorities Uncover Illicit Activities
According to a statement by prosecutors in Paris, French authorities obtained a court order to conduct surveillance on a Jabber server used by the administrator for instant messaging. The intercepted messages “revealed numerous illicit activities related to cybercrime and ransomware,” and allowed investigators to identify at least $7 million in proceeds from cybercrime.
Impact of the Arrest
The closed-access forum had more than 50,000 registered users and was a key marketplace for selling stolen data and hacking tools. The seized data will be used to support ongoing investigations, Europol said.
