US and French authorities have confirmed the arrests of five hackers who were accused of being part of the infamous cybercrime forum behind several major hacks.
On Thursday, the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of British National Kaiwest, accusing him of being a “serial hacker” at age 25, known as Intelbroker. US authorities have caused more than $25 million in damages by targeting more than 40 victims, including telecommunications companies, city healthcare providers and internet service providers, while West is behind a “year-long hacking scheme.”
For healthcare providers, the DOJ alleges that West tried to sell sensitive patient personal information, including name, Social Security number, date of birth, gender, health plan, and employer information.
According to DOJ, Nishi was “a leader of a hacking group known as Cybern.”[——]” refers to racist slurs who frequently visit “specific internet forums.” Although the DOJ did not name the forum, the complaint includes details of the breach of reference form previously closed in 2023 and 2024 by the coalition of international law enforcement agencies.
A DOJ press release said West was arrested in France in early February and is currently facing extradition to the US.
According to a complaint against West, Cybern[——] The group included four other individuals not named by US authorities.
These four apparently were arrested in France earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement that French police had run the violation form and arrested four people suspected of being part of a group called “Shinyhunters.”
“This week's arrest targeted individuals suspected of being the site's main manager and raised hopes for its permanent closure,” according to a translation of the press release.
Prosecutors also confirmed in a statement that West, who was appointed solely as Intelbroker, was arrested in France in February.
When asked for comment, a spokesman for the French prosecutor's office called TechCrunch into a published statement.
In response to questions about the four unnamed co-conspirators, U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Nicholas Bias declined to clarify in a follow-up email, saying he could not comment on “non-charged individuals.”
Breachforums is one of the most well-known hacking forums on the internet, where cybercriminals sold hacking tools and promoted, sold and traded data stolen from companies such as 23andMe.
In 2023, federal authorities seized and closed the violation three months after arresting Connor Brian Fitzpatrick, the administrator also known as “Ponpampin pudding.” The site was then rebooted, but was seized in 2024 and closed again.
West is accused of conspiracy to infringe computers, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to access and retrieve information on protected computers.