IntelBroker Charged: U.S. Unmasks Alleged Mastermind Behind $25M Data Heist
It’s official—intelbroker has a face. U.S. prosecutors just unsealed charges against Kai West, a 25-year-old British national accused of running a global hacking empire responsible for more than $25 million in damage. West, known online as “IntelBroker,” allegedly operated BreachForums and led coordinated cyberattacks that breached sensitive company systems around the world.
Bitcoin Traces, Data Leaks & a Dark Web Empire
Between 2023 and early 2025, West reportedly posted or sold stolen data over 150 times—sometimes for profit, sometimes to boost clout through forum credits. Prosecutors say he ran BreachForums between August 2024 and January 2025, a dark web marketplace infamous for trading hacked corporate data.
Although IntelBroker has taken credit for past attacks on AMD, Cisco, and HP Enterprise, these companies aren’t specifically named in the current charges. Investigators instead tied West to a broader conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, aided by clever blockchain tracing. Despite preferring Monero for its privacy features, undercover agents were able to connect Bitcoin payments to West’s emails and crypto wallets.
West was arrested in France in February 2025 and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. The case, filed under U.S. v. West, 25-cr-134, is being prosecuted in New York’s Southern District. His legal counsel remains unnamed.
Quick Take:
The intelbroker bust is one of the biggest dark web takedowns since BreachForums first launched. It’s a wake-up call for data security worldwide—and a warning that even privacy coins and forums can’t guarantee anonymity forever.
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