U.S. Department of Justice seizes the hacker forum BreachForums’ domain
On March 20th, the U.S. Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies announced the successful apprehension of the founder of the prominent hacker forum BreachForums. This emergent forum was a bustling hub for hackers predominantly vending stolen data garnered from a diverse array of sources, with victims encompassing businesses, organizations, and government institutions globally.
Following the arrest of the forum’s principal administrator, the secondary administrator prepared to assume control and perpetuate the forum’s operations. However, they soon discovered that the FBI appeared to have access to the forum’s data, and consequently opted to shut down the forum.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice, other agencies, and certain members of Interpol announced the seizure of BreachForums’ clearnet domain, Breached.vc. Visitors are greeted with a notice indicating that the domain has been seized, coupled with a graphic of a puppy sporting a silver bracelet.
Although the original BreachForums domain has not been seized, it is currently inaccessible. Upon visiting, users are welcomed by nginx, which is the default page of the Nginx server.
Another old domain advises visitors that the forum will never return and to remain wary of a host of deceptive domain names claiming to represent the forum. Indeed, currently, numerous new domains are purporting to be the resurrected versions of BreachForums, though they are nothing more than cheap imitations.
As for the forum’s founder, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, he is currently standing trial, with the specifics of his sentencing yet to be determined. On March 20th, following his arrest by the FBI, his parents posted a bail amount of $300,000 allowing him to return home. Naturally, he did not abscond, instead proceeding to court for his trial, with the verdict likely to require further patience.
