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Popular criminal hacking forum BreachForums set to restart, defying arrests and law enforcement takedowns.
First came the takedowns, and BreachForums bounced back. Then came more takedowns, and BreachForums changed URLs. Then, an alleged zero-day hack, law enforcement infiltration, and BreachForums still managed to shuffle on.
We suggested last week’s arrests of the forum’s administrators and the revelation that one of its most prominent members was a 25-year-old British national, Kai West, could possibly be the final nail hammered into the hacking forum’s coffin, but…
Somehow, BreachForums returned.
Or at least, that’s the current intention, according to multiple emails sent to Cyber Daily and the message on what appears to be a new clear web version of the forum itself.
In an email titled “BreachForums Returns!”, a forum user known as Jaw introduces himself and the plan for the relaunched enterprise.
“We’re back – read carefully,” Jaw said in a 30 June email.
“Most of you know me – I’m Jaw. I’ve decided to bring back the forum we all loved. BreachForums will officially reopen on July 1st.
“First, thank you to those who choose to return and rebuild. But let’s be clear: ShinyHunters and IntelBroker have been arrested. With them, the servers and database were seized, now in the hands of US and French authorities.”
IntelBroker is the aforementioned West, apparently arrested earlier this year by French authorities, and whose extradition the US is now seeking. ShinyHunters is the other prominent hacker, one of the four arrests made early last week.
“There was no MyBB 0-day – that was disinformation. ShinyHunters posted it to buy time, hoping IntelBroker would return and restore the forum. More details about this will be shared after reopening on July 1st,” Jaw said, referring to the previous text-only placeholder for BreachForums.
“Because of all this, do not reuse old usernames or identities. Start fresh. Protect yourselves.”
Jaw added that they had “learned from the past” and that the new BreachForums would “move forward – smarter, and together”.
According to another source, Jaw is currently a moderator of another hacking community, RaidForums. And sure enough, that same text above is currently the only message on the site’s new URL. It remains to be seen how popular the site will be, with rumours regarding recent “clones” of the site being probable law enforcement honeypots.
Wait and watch.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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