BreachForums, an alternative to the cybercrime marketplace RaidForums, has recently announced its shutdown following the arrest of its alleged administrator, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick. In a short span of roughly a year, the website had rapidly gained a membership of 192,000 users. Last week, US authorities arrested Fitzpatrick for running BreachForums and this week, the administrator of the website, Baphomet, announced the website’s shutdown due to concerns that some backend servers may be in control of law enforcement.
BreachForums had become an appealing alternative to RaidForums following its shutdown in February 2022, as it promised incentives such as the ability to retain the paid ranking users previously had. Despite the forum’s shutdown, Baphomet has made it clear that the plan is to create a new Telegram group for the interested users and to relaunch the forum in another format.
The cybercrime underground has continually demonstrated resilience, however, following the takedown of Raid Forums and the arrest of their administrator, as well as the arrest of Fitzpatrick, it is unclear what threat actor would be willing to take on such a risk.
In conclusion, BreachForums has announced its shutdown following the arrest of its alleged administrator, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick. Despite the forum’s shutdown, the Breached community will likely relaunch in another format. The cybercrime underground has demonstrated resilience in the past, however, the risk associated with such activities is unclear going forward.
Key Points:
• BreachForums has announced its shutdown following the arrest of its alleged administrator, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick
• The website had rapidly gained a membership of 192,000 users in a short span of roughly a year
• The Breached community will likely relaunch in another format
• The risk associated with cybercrime activities is unclear going forward