Authorities Charge 25-Year-Old British National Linked to IntelBroker Hacks

 In a major breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime, U.S. and French authorities have charged and detained 25-year-old British national Kai West, believed to be the notorious hacker known as “IntelBroker.”

West was arrested in France in February and is currently awaiting extradition to the United States, where he faces multiple federal charges related to a global campaign of data theft and cyber intrusions.

A Global Cybercrime Operation

According to the unsealed indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, West is accused of leading a years-long scheme that targeted over 40 companies and organizations worldwide between 2023 and 2025.

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Operating under the aliases “IntelBroker” and “Kyle Northern,” West allegedly conspired with a group of hackers to infiltrate computer systems, steal sensitive data, and offer it for sale on underground forums, most notably the infamous BreachForums.

The stolen data included personal and proprietary information from a range of high-profile targets, such as Hewlett-Packard Enterprises (HPE), Cisco, Nokia, AMD, Zscaler, and even law enforcement agencies like Europol.

In several cases, the breaches exposed sensitive health records, internal corporate documents, and user data from online platforms.

Prosecutors estimate that IntelBroker’s activities resulted in more than $25 million in damages to victims around the world.

West and his co-conspirators allegedly sought to collect at least $2 million by selling stolen data, with some individual breaches causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in remediation costs for affected companies.

West faces four counts, including conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, accessing a protected computer to obtain information, and wire fraud.

Each wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while the hacking-related charges carry up to five years each. If convicted on all counts, West could face up to 50 years in prison.

Despite IntelBroker’s attempts to mask his identity—at times claiming to be based in Russia or Eastern Europe—investigators traced cryptocurrency transactions from undercover law enforcement purchases back to accounts registered by West.

Further digital forensics linked his personal email accounts and IP addresses to activity on BreachForums and the sale of stolen data.

Authorities also noted that YouTube videos watched by West were subsequently posted by IntelBroker on the forum, further cementing the connection.

French authorities, working closely with U.S. law enforcement, detained West and several other individuals believed to be administrators of BreachForums in a coordinated operation earlier this year.

“This action reflects the FBI’s commitment to pursuing cyber criminals around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “New Yorkers are all too often the victims of intentional cyber schemes, and our office is committed to bringing these remote actors to justice”.

The case marks one of the most significant blows yet to the global cybercrime underground, sending a strong message to would-be hackers that international law enforcement cooperation can—and will—reach across borders.

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