Just a few weeks after an international operation led by the FBI and Europol seized LeakBase's infrastructure, Russian police have arrested the alleged creator and administrator of the Leakbase forum in Taganrog, Russia.
LeakBase -which at this point had more threat intelligence professionals lurking than actual threat actors- operated for four years with a built-in credit and rating system sustaining a community of 147,000 users trading stolen credentials, banking data, and hacking tools.
The March 4 operation involved 14 countries and 13 arrests. A Europol spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch they had no involvement in today's Russian action.
Source: https://t.co/9g4yZUS9di
Footage of the detention of the administrator of LeakBase forum in Taganrog, Rostov Region, Russia 🇷🇺. Via MVD representatives
Report: "According to available information, the platform hosted hundreds of millions of user accounts, bank details, logins and passwords, as well as corporate documents obtained as a result of hacking. Over 147 thousand users registered on the forum could buy and sell this data, as well as use it to commit fraudulent actions against citizens.
During the search at the detainee's residence, technical equipment and other items of evidentiary significance were seized.
A criminal case has been initiated by the investigator of the Main Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow on the grounds of crimes provided for in parts three and six of Article 272.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A preventive measure in the form of detention has been chosen against the defendant."
A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to ShinyHunters in an interview. They confirmed what LAPSUS$ told me last month.
"SLSH is Hellcat, not Lapsus/ShinyHunters. It's just a way to make them self seem important in cyberspace, nothing more."
https://t.co/cdQRiFIkzv
⚠️ BreachForums Hack: Hackers Exposed All User Records from Popular Dark Web Forum
Source: https://t.co/EoMYiKtHrk
In a dramatic turn for the cybercrime underworld, a mysterious hacker known as “James” has leaked the complete user database of BreachForums, a notorious Dark Web forum serving as a hub for stolen data trading and hacking discussions.
The breach, announced on January 9, 2026, via the site https://t.co/ZEacnGscg8, exposes metadata for over 323,986 users, including admins, moderators, and regular members, potentially dooming many to law enforcement scrutiny.
#cybersecuritynews