FBI reportedly seized control of criminal hacker forum, BreachForums

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted at 3:56 PM, May 16, 2024


A coalition of international law enforcement agencies, led by the FBI, has reportedly seized control of the criminal hacker forum, BreachForums.

According to screenshots shared on TechCrunch, when attempting to access the forum, messages on the main page state, "this website has been taken down by the FBI and DOJ with assistance from international partners. We are reviewing this site’s backed data," followed by a link directing users to a dedicated FBI website for reporting any potential criminal activity.

Within that shared link, the FBI explains that “from June 2023 until May 2024, BreachForums (hosted at breachforums.st/.cx/.is/.vc and run by ShinyHunters) was operating as a clear-net marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade contraband, including stolen access devices, means of identification, hacking tools, breached databases, and other illegal services."

TechCrunch reports that authorities also assumed control of the forum’s official Telegram channel, along with a second channel called "Baphomet."

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/data-privacy-and-cybersecurity/fbi-reportedly-seized-control-of-criminal-hacker-forum-breachforums

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Image Credits: Screenshot/TechCrunch

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Critical OS updates require internet connection. How to resolve this intrusion point?

[Swede]

2. There'll be some quaking folks out there.

I imagine they have all the members info.

[jvill]

3. What percentage of that info is valid, do you think?

[Swede]

4. Well if they're buying stuff, the FBi will be able to follow the money.

nt

[Angleae]

9. Not if they're using bitcoin or some other crypto.

[Angrybob2001]

8. Data Points

Most of the actual identifying of those guys comes from years of data from multiple sources. One guy will flip and give up some data point or another that combines with other points. While many of those guys are very smart, they are human and make mistakes like any other criminal.

I always like to read Krebs on Security for stories on how these guys get rolled up.

[Warpy]

5. I just wish they'd get the guy with the thick Hindi accent

who likes to tell me my bank account has been hacked. He likes to call between 5 AM and 6 AM, which I'm sure is a perfectly convenient hour wherever he is. And if that isn't enough dumbfuckery, his script is really lame and easy to see through. He really needs the WWW equivalent of a Darwin Award.

Every time I forget to unplug my land line when I go to bed, that bastard calls.

[KS Toronado]

6. Can/Will the FBI use the seized hacking tools

to track down Putin's social media propaganda in swing States? Cut them off the internet or mess with all
their posts.

"Greetings comrades, Vlad Putin here encouraging you to vote for Von Schitzenpants who has picked me to be
his Vice President. Everybody is saying I'd make a fantastic V.P. for one day while I retire Von Schitzenpants
on 5th Avenue. On the 2nd day I'll start to Make America Great Again as the honestly elected leader of the world"

[ancianita]

7. Here's more from Infosecurity Magazine, UK

https://archive.ph/Pt6J8

On X, Dark Web Informer posted an apparent announcement from ShinyHunters claiming Baphomet had been arrested and “pretty much all of our infrastructure” had been seized – but that no ShinyHunters members had yet been arrested.--

The FBI is also reaching out to both victims and potential informants for more information on the site. A notice on a dedicated FBI domain explains the history of the site, including its predecessor and namesake and a forerunner known as RaidForums...

“Previously, a separate version of BreachForums (hosted at breached.vc/.to/.co and run by pompompurin) operated a similar hacking forum from March 2022 until March 2023. RaidForums (hosted at raidforums.com and run by Omnipotent) was the predecessor hacking forum to both version of BreachForums and ran from early 2015 until February 2022.”
Pompompurin (aka Conor Brian Fitzpatrick) was arrested last year and pleaded guilty to hacking charges in July.

“Beyond that, the forum operators may have backups of this information, unless the FBI/DOJ also got the operators/backups. Most people participating in these forums are fairly sophisticated and would have protected their identities. However, some folks could be tracked based on their IP addresses, Telegram account information, email addresses, etc.”

I don't know who/what cybersecurity folks coordinate with the FBI -- DHS's CISA, maybe -- but I love this dazzling takedown stuff, even if a bunch seem to always 'get away.'
I like to think there might be some state level AI use connected to these networks.