PARIS (Reuters) -A person suspected of being the administrator for the Russian language cybercriminal forum XSS.is was arrested in Ukraine this week, the French public prosecutor’s office and the pan-European police body Europol said on Wednesday.
Europol said the suspect – whose name has not been given – was thought to have earned more than 7 million euros ($8.20 million) via the forum.
“The forum’s administrator was not only a technical operator but is believed to have played a central role in enabling criminal activity,” a Europol statement said.
“Acting as a trusted third party, he arbitrated disputes between criminals and guaranteed the security of transactions. He is also believed to have run thesecure.biz, a private messaging service tailored to the needs of the cybercriminal underground,” it added.
Europol said the cybercrime forum had more than 50,000 registered users and served as a key marketplace for stolen data, hacking tools and other illegal services.
The suspect was arrested in Kyiv on Tuesday in a police operation involving Ukrainian authorities, according to French police and Europol.
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(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Dominique Vidalon; editing by Mark Heinrich)
