U.S. federal prosecutors have charged British national Kai West with cybercrime offences, including data theft and unauthorised access to computer networks, and are seeking his extradition from France, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
West, who was arrested in France in February, is accused of being part of a larger cybercrime group that trafficked stolen data through an underground forum. Prosecutors say he operated under the alias “IntelBroker,” infiltrated computer systems, stole sensitive data, and sold or distributed it, causing millions of dollars in damages to dozens of victims globally, including a major U.S. telecommunications company.
A four-count indictment was unsealed on Wednesday. Two of the charges carry a maximum sentence of five years each, and the remaining two carry up to 20 years in prison.
While the Justice Department did not publicly name the forum, French outlets such as Le Parisien and Valeurs Actuelles identified it as BreachForums, a well-known platform for trading hacked data. French authorities also reportedly arrested four other suspected hackers in connection with the case earlier this week.
No legal representative for West has yet commented on the charges.
Reuters/s.s