TR02 - Operation COOKIE MONSTER: An Examination of the International Operation Against Genesis Market

In April 2023, FBI in coordination with Europol and numerous international partners, disrupted the online criminal marketplace, Genesis Market, through coordinated actions targeting the service and it’s users. Since its inception in March 2018, Genesis Market has offered access to data stolen from over 1.5 million compromised computers around the world containing over 80 million account access credentials and was a key enabler to ransomware. In addition to access credentials, Genesis Market obtained and sold device “fingerprints,” which in combination with stolen access credentials allowed users to assume the identity of the victim. The actions in April resulted in the seizure of the Genesis Market domains and the global execution of over 400 law enforcement actions against users across fifteen countries. This panel discussion will examine the impact of the operation and emphasize the need for international cooperation to execute successful cyber operations.