‘Operation Cookie Monster’: global hacker marketplace shut down by police

Police forces from 17 countries have shut down Genesis Market – an online website that would sell personal information to criminals.

“Operation Cookie Monster” dismantled the market, which hosted about 80 million credentials and digital fingerprints stolen from over two million people in the past five years.

Ontario Provincial Police were also involved in the international cyber-crime investigation that led the FBI to seize the dark-web marketplace.

The website was shut down on Tuesday with a banner plastered across the market’s site, stating that it has been seized by the FBI.

It resulted in 119 arrests, 2,008 property searches and 97 knock and talk measures worldwide.

Police don’t know how many people in Ontario have been affected, but say three search warrants have been conducted in the province.

Investigators say cyber-criminals would steal data like email addresses, usernames and passwords to sell online.

The data was stolen from financial sectors, critical infrastructure and various governments worldwide.

The Dutch police have released a website that can check whether or not an email was hacked.

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