A man has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for purchasing stolen information from an online criminal marketplace on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old man’s house in the Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba was searched in October 2022, after first coming to police attention in November 2020.
While officers executed the warrant, the man admitted to being a user of Genesis Market, a now banned online marketplace.
Genesis Market was known to sell login credentials, browsing history, autofill form data as well as other information that had been obtained from hacked or scammed devices.
An examination of devices taken from the man’s home, including two mobile phones and storage units, found the man had purchased almost 1000 bots containing stolen login information of unaware victims.
AFP Cybercrime Operations Commander Chris Goldsmid said people need to be vigilant in protecting their private data and those looking to use stolen data would be apprehended.
“Cybercrime is the break-and-enter of the 21st century and will only continue to increase in frequency and severity,” he said.
“We need everyone to practice good cyber hygiene to help us make Australia a hostile environment to cyber criminals.
“Simple things like using different passwords for each of your accounts, using longer pass phrases and enabling two-factor authentication can go a long way in keeping your information safe.
“I also want to warn anyone who is buying or selling stolen information online, you are committing an offence and you can expect to hear a knock on the door from police.”
The Woolloongabba man pleaded guilty to four counts of unauthorised access to restricted data and two counts of possessing data with intent to commit a computer offence.
He was given a head sentence of two years and six months, but has been released on a $2000 recognisance order on conditions of good behaviour for five years with a two years probation period.
Genesis Market was shut down earlier this year following an international investigation between the FBI, AFP, NSW Police, Victoria Police, Queensland Police Service and Western Australian Police Force.
It is believed at the time of the shut down that Genesis Market was offering access to more than 1.5 million hacked computers which often contained information to multiple accounts.