BreachForums Seized for Second Time in Cybercrime Crackdown
Law enforcement agencies, spearheaded by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have once again seized control of BreachForums, a notorious online marketplace infamous for trading stolen data.
This marks the second takedown within a year, following a prior operation in June 2023.
The recent seizure involved the BreachForums website, breachforums[.]st, along with the associated Telegram channel managed by Baphomet, who took over as administrator after the arrest of Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, also known as pompompurin, in March of the preceding year.
The collaborative effort to dismantle BreachForums involved authorities from Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ukraine. The FBI’s message on the seized Telegram channel states their control over both the channel and the website and encourages individuals with information on cybercriminal activity related to BreachForums to contact them through various channels.
Though the status of Baphomet and fellow administrator ShinyHunters remains uncertain, the seizure banner depicts their profile pictures behind bars. The agencies involved highlighted BreachForums’ role as a marketplace facilitating the trade of illicit goods and services, including stolen access devices, personal identification information, hacking tools, breached databases, and more.
BreachForums initially emerged in March 2022 following the dismantling of RaidForums and the arrest of its owner, “Omnipotent”. After its shutdown in 2023, it resurfaced when Baphomet and ShinyHunters collaborated to relaunch the platform under the same name. This latest operation underscores law enforcement’s ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime and disrupt illicit online activities, particularly in the realm of data theft and illegal online marketplaces.
