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Dutch arrest

‘Operation Cookie Monster’: Dutch arrest their most-wanted suspect in cyber case

‘Operation Cookie Monster’: Dutch arrest their most-wanted suspect in cyber case
FBI Deputy Director Paul M. Abbate delivers the keynote address at the seventh annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA, 07 June 2023. Abbate spoke of the FBI's recent shutdown of the data leak platforms, BreachForurms and Genesis Market, as well as the use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to stop cyber criminals working outside of the United States. EPA-EFE/CJ GUNTHER

Dutch police have arrested a man they described as their most wanted suspect in the investigation into the Genesis Market, a dark web marketplace for stolen computer credentials, shut down in a multi-national crackdown dubbed "Operation Cookie Monster".

The Genesis website was closed in April in an operation said at the time to involve law enforcement agencies from 17 countries and more than 120 arrests.

International investigators said the site had been used to sell stolen online credentials, such as web browser fingerprints and cookies, from more than 2 million people. The credentials could be used by hackers to bypass anti-fraud protections.

In a statement, police said the 32-year-old Dutch national, a resident of Brazil, could be one of the top 10 users of the Genesis Market.

They did not identify him or give details of the crimes he was alleged to have committed, beyond saying he was suspected of having duped many people, some of whom were robbed for tens of thousands of euros.

The suspect was arrested last week when he was in the Netherlands but police did not publicise the arrest until this week for investigative purposes.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van CampenhoutEditing by Peter Graff)

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