Cyber Crime
End of BreachForums? FBI’s Unprecedented Cybercrime Crackdown Explained
– The FBI seizes BreachForums, a major hub for buying and selling stolen data.
– This action disrupts illegal activities and aids investigations with crucial data.
The FBI has seized BreachForums, a website that acted as a dark marketplace for cybercriminals. This online hub facilitated the buying, selling, and leaking of stolen data, including a recent high-profile leak from a Europol law enforcement portal.
Anyone visiting BreachForums now encounters a message confirming the website and its data are under the control of the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ), with international partners assisting in the takedown. The message emphasizes an ongoing investigation and encourages anyone with information about illegal activity on the forum to come forward.
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This takedown is a significant step forward for law enforcement. By seizing BreachForums, the FBI potentially has access to a treasure trove of information. This could include email addresses, IP addresses, and even private messages exchanged between forum members. This data could be a game-changer, helping investigators identify and apprehend cybercriminals.
BreachForums appears to have been seized by law enforcement agencies, yet there is no official announcement.
Both the clearnet domain and the TOR domain currently display the following message:#DarkWeb #BreachForums #cybersecurity pic.twitter.com/o9IUqUXC4X
— Dark Web Intelligence (@DailyDarkWeb) May 15, 2024
The FBI has also taken control of the BreachForums Telegram channel, further hindering their ability to operate. They are actively seeking information from victims and the public, offering various ways to contact them, including email, Telegram, TOX, and a dedicated page on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website.
BreachForums has a long and infamous history in the cybercrime world. According to the FBI, the most recent iteration of the forum operated from June 2023 to May 2024 under an administrator known as ShinyHunters. This version succeeded an earlier one led by “pompompurin” from March 2022 to March 2023. Both versions stemmed from the even earlier RaidForums, which functioned under “Omnipotent” from early 2015 until February 2022.
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The FBI is urging those impacted by BreachForums or anyone with knowledge about the forum and its members to submit information through the dedicated IC3 subdomain. This information could be crucial in further investigations and bringing cybercriminals to justice.
By shutting down BreachForums, the FBI has dealt a significant blow to cybercrime. Their access to the forum’s data, coupled with information from the public, has the potential to disrupt criminal activity and lead to numerous arrests. This is a developing story, and we will continue to provide updates as they become available.