PARIS (Reuters) -A person suspected of being the administrator for the Russian language cybercriminal forum XSS.is was arrested in Ukraine, with the assistance of the French police and Europol, the
Administrator of Russian Cybercrime Forum Arrested in Ukraine
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.
($1 = 0.8536 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Dominique Vidalon; editing by Mark Heinrich)
