LeakBase locked in another hacking market

One of the largest hacking marketplaces on the internet just got a seizure banner. US authorities say they have taken control of LeakBase, an open web forum used to buy and sell stolen data and cybercrime tools.

The US Department of Justice describes LeakBase as a hub for compromised databases. Along with “hundreds of millions” of account credentials, it provided those concerned with credit and debit card numbers, banking details and other personally identifiable information that could fuel fraud.

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The site operated like a subscription marketplace (with premium access being more expensive) and traded everything, although it specialized in database leaks and files of stolen credentials collected through malware.

The forum had more than 142.000 members and over 215.000 messages.

The website shutdown took place on March 3 and 4, with synchronized actions in 14 countries in an operation coordinated by Europol headquarters in The Hague.

Domains were seized, the website was taken down, and investigators sent messages to members – the digital equivalent of a police officer knocking on the door and politely asking what exactly you're doing with those files containing passwords.

The current LeakBase page warns that all forum content, including private messages and IP logs, has been preserved “for evidentiary purposes” and that attempts to intervene may result in additional arrests. In other words: if you’re thinking about deleting your DMs, you’re a little late.

Europol and its partner agencies are hunting down the most active users of the forum. Europol says authorities have taken action against 37 top users.

The Department of Justice confirmed search warrants, arrests and interrogations in countries including the US and the UK.

The Department of Justice characterizes this operation as the latest in a series of earlier successes, such as the seizure of RaidForums in 2022 and BreachForums in 2023.

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