Xss.is had more than 50,000 registered users and “has long been a central platform for some of the most active and dangerous cybercriminal networks, used to coordinate, advertise and recruit," Europol said.
The suspected administrator also “arbitrated disputes between criminals and guaranteed the security of transactions,” it said.
The French-led investigation was launched in 2021, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. It called xss.is “one of the main hubs for global cybercrime” and said it facilitated "the sale of malware, access to compromised systems, stolen data, and ransomware-related services” and also operated an encrypted messaging server that enabled cybercriminals to communicate anonymously.
It said wiretaps helped identify the suspected administrator and his arrest by Ukrainian authorities.