Washington (AFP)
US authorities have arrested the Russian leader of a hacker platform who made at least $ 17 million from selling personal data and other illegal products and services, according to official documents.
Kirill Victorovich Firsov, described as a "Russian cyber pirate," was arrested on Saturday by the FBI on arrival at a New York airport, ZDNet reported on Tuesday.
A criminal complaint, made public in the process, explains that the Russian hacker managed since 2013 the platform deer.io.
This site included in particular "virtual stores" which sold "all kinds of hacked or recovered data, American or international, financial or belonging to companies", as login credentials with passwords.
According to investigators, deer.io was "a turnkey solution with a storefront and hosting services, where cybercriminals could advertise and sell their products."
To resell their contraband, hackers could buy a storefront on this site for the equivalent of a dozen dollars a month.
"At this stage, the authorities have found no legitimate sign on deer.io", which was hosted in Russia, beyond the reach of the American police.
To verify that this service was selling real information, the FBI bought data from more than 3,000 hacked accounts for less than $ 700 in bitcoin, and then identified the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of people living in California. .
Kirill Victorovich Firsov is scheduled to appear in federal court in New York. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
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