Deer.io Black Market Owner Reportedly Arrested by FBI

The owner of Deer.io, an anonymous internet black market, was reportedly arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Unsealed court documents allege that Kirill Victorovich Firsov is the owner of the Russian-based black market Deer.io. Firsov was arrested by authorities while at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. 

Firsov was accused of being the mastermind behind the anonymous marketplace that utilized bitcoin for transactions. FBI officials estimate the site has facilitated more than $17 million in sales since 2013, operating as a “turn-key” solution for black market entrepreneurs.

According to the court documents, 

The DEER.IO platform offers a turnkey online storefront design and hosting platform, from which cybercriminals can advertise and sell their products (such as harvested credentials and hacked servers) and services.

Vendors paid fees in bitcoin to host their storefront on private Russian servers outside of the jurisdiction of U.S. authorities. 

Firsov will be arraigned in a New York court and is expected to be charged for trafficking stolen information and aiding and abetting trafficking.

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