Firsov was charged with crimes related to the hacking of US companies in harvesting corporate and financial data, customers’ personal information and user accounts. According to a federal complaint, deer.io virtual stores offered for sale a variety of hacked or compromised US and international sensitive (financial, corporate, etc.) data and user accounts from many different companies, mostly based in the US. Individuals could also buy computer files and entire databases as well as data harvested from malware-infected computers both within the territory of the US and abroad.
$17 million worth data heist
The indictment against Firsov claims deer.io to be responsible for $17 million worth of stolen credential and personal data sales since the marketplace launched its operations in October 2013. Firsov is next scheduled to appear on April 16, 2020, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard. FBI Special Agent in Charge Omer Meisel stated, that Deer.io was the largest centralized platform, which promoted and facilitated the sale of compromised social media and financial accounts, personally identifiable information (PII) and hacked computers on the internet. According to Meisel, the seizure of this criminal website represents a significant step in reducing stolen data used to victimize individuals and businesses in the United States and abroad. The FBI informs, that it will continue to be at the forefront of protecting Americans from foreign and domestic cybercriminals.
