The Good | International Law Enforcement Takes Down Crypto Criminals & BreachForums

Law enforcement agencies have made significant strides in combating cybercrime in recent days, with international cooperation leading to the takedown of cryptocurrency thieves and the dismantling of a notorious hacking platform.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged two brothers, Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Pepaire-Bueno, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering for their involvement in a $25 million cryptocurrency theft from the Ethereum blockchain. The brothers allegedly manipulated the blockchain to steal the funds, marking a first-of-its-kind attack that involved tampering with transaction validation processes.

In a separate operation, the FBI, in collaboration with international law enforcement partners, seized a second iteration of the BreachForums hacking platform. The forum, which operated as a marketplace for cybercriminals to buy and sell illicit goods and services, was shut down after authorities took down a Telegram channel belonging to the successor of the original forum’s owner, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick.

Meanwhile, North Korean APT group Kimsuky has been identified as the perpetrator behind a new social engineering campaign that targets activists within North Korean human rights groups and anti-North Korean sectors. The group used fake Facebook accounts to deliver malware via Messenger, luring victims into opening malicious documents hosted on OneDrive.

In a separate incident, European government agencies have been targeted by a new cyber intrusion campaign linked to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The campaign, attributed to the Turla APT group, leverages two previously unknown backdoors named “LunarWeb” and “LunarMail” to gain access to sensitive information and maintain control over compromised systems.

As the threat landscape continues to evolve, organizations are urged to remain vigilant and invest in advanced detection capabilities to protect against cyber threats. With major elections on the horizon, the risk of nation-backed cyber attacks targeting election infrastructure and influencing public opinion is expected to rise, further complicating the socio-economic and geopolitical landscape.