People always ask me if law enforcement is having any luck in combatting cyber criminals. Let me be clear: it is a very tough job to take down cyber criminals located in other countries or sponsored by foreign nations. Our government is focusing on cyber criminals more than I have ever seen before, and the effort is promising.

Not only did the Department of Justice (DOJ) lead an effort to recoup ransomware paid by Colonial Pipeline, but it also just took down (I love that term), with the help of international law enforcement, an online marketplace, Slilpp, that was selling stolen login credentials for banking and online payment platforms.

An unsealed affidavit for a warrant requested by the DOJ states that victims have reported over $200 million in losses in the U.S. The Slilpp marketplace sold login credentials for more than 1,400 account providers before law enforcement took them down.

According to the DOJ: “[W]ith today’s coordinated disruption of the Slilpp marketplace, the FBI and our international partners sent a clear message to those who, as alleged, would steal and traffic in stolen identities: we will not allow cyber threats to go unchecked…. We applaud the efforts of the FBI and our international partners who contributed to the effort to mitigate this global threat.”

The FBI and DOJ are tirelessly chasing cyber criminals and their efforts are paying off for all of us. They deserve huge credit for their persistence and efforts.

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