U.S. and European law enforcement agencies recently jointly announced that they had seized the database of the online forum LeakBase, calling it "one of the largest cybercriminal forums in the world" that has long been used to share stolen passwords and various hacking tools. Law enforcement said they took control of the site earlier this week, with more than 142,000 registered members in its database and more than 215,000 messages sent between members.
The investigation shows that LeakBase has been actively operating since 2021 and continues to maintain and update a large number of database files of compromised websites and services, including hundreds of millions of account credentials, credit card numbers, bank account and routing information and other sensitive data. These stolen credentials have become an important tool in recent years for attackers to compromise personal accounts and steal data and cryptocurrency. This clampdown is seen as the latest round of attacks on the "certificate trading black industry chain".
The global operation resulted in around 100 law enforcement measures, including taking action against 37 of the forum's most active users, Europol said in a statement. On the U.S. side, the FBI redirected LeakBase's domain name resolution records to a name server controlled by the agency early Wednesday, effectively cutting off external access to the website.
Currently, the LeakBase homepage has been replaced with a seizure announcement issued by law enforcement agencies, informing the public that the entire content of the forum, private messages, and IP address logs have been preserved for subsequent investigation and litigation. According to security media The Record, citing FBI Cyber Division officer Brett Leatherman, the operation has resulted in the arrest of more than 13 people, while 33 suspects were searched and questioned, and the complete database of the forum was successfully obtained.
This cross-border operation surrounding LeakBase once again highlights the increasing coordination of law enforcement agencies in various countries in combating cybercrime, curbing the sale of stolen data and the proliferation of hacking tools. At a time when stolen account numbers, credit cards, and financial data continue to drive the underground black market, joint crackdowns on similar data leaks and trading platforms are regarded as a key part of protecting the security of ordinary user accounts and the stability of the financial system.