 | |
Type of site | Internet forum |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Predecessor(s) | RaidForums |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Founder(s) | Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, also known by his screen name "pompompurin" |
| URL |
|
| Advertising | Yes |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | 336,800 at time of last shutdown |
| Launched | March 4, 2022 |
| Current status | Online |
BreachForums is an English-language black hat–hacking crime forum. The website acts as an alternative and successor to RaidForums following its shutdown and seizure in 2022.[1][2] Like its predecessor, BreachForums allows for the discussion of various hacking topics and distributed data breaches, pornography, hacking tools and various other services.
On March 21, 2023, BreachForums was shutdown following the arrest of the forum's owner, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick.[3] The forum was later reopened under the ownership of the hacking group ShinyHunters and previous BreachForums administrator "Baphomet". Fitzpatrick was later sentenced to 20 years supervised release.
History
The forum was founded and owned in March 2022 by then-19 year old Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, known on the forum under the screen name "pompompurin".[4] Fitzpatrick's identity on the internet had been based on the Japanese character by Sanrio of the same name. Fitzpatrick had, a year earlier, claimed responsibility for the 2021 FBI email hack.[5]
Controversy
On December 10, 2022, a member of the forum identified by the screen name "USDoD" posted a thread offering the sale of a database containing the information of over 80,000 members of the FBI non-profit organization and information portal InfraGard. The individual claimed to have obtained access to the portal through a social engineering attack in which they pretended to be the CEO of an unknown U.S. financial corporation.[6]
On March 9, 2023, another member identifying under the screen name "Denfur" posted a thread containing 200 entries originating from a breach of DC Health Link, a Washington D.C. health insurance marketplace, claiming that more information was to come. The D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority later stated that more than 56,000 customers had been impacted by the breach, but original posts relating to the data claim to have the information of over 170,000 customers.[7][8]
Arrest and shutdown
On March 15, 2023, Fitzpatrick was arrested by law enforcement and charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud in federal court.[4][9] Following Fitzpatrick's arrest, another forum administrator under the screen name "Baphomet" took ownership of the website and its infrastructure. However, following Baphomet's suspicion of the forum being compromised, on March 21, 2023, it was shut down.[10] Baphomet later reopened the forum with black-hat hacking group ShinyHunters.
Approximately a month after his arrest, Fitzpatrick attempted to commit suicide in his home while released on bail.[11] He has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and possession of child pornography.[12] In January 2024, Fitzpatrick was detained after violating his bail conditions which forbade the use of a VPN.[13] Despite federal prosecutors requesting that Fitzpatrick serve 15.7 years in prison, he was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release.[14]
Domain seizure
On June 23, 2023, three months after shutting down, the clearnet domains for BreachForums were seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Justice in accordance with a seizure warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia.[15][16]
See also
References
- ^ "Welcome & FAQ Thread | BreachForums". BreachForums. March 16, 2022. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Justice Department Announces Arrest of the Founder of One of the World's Largest Hacker Forums and Disruption of Forum's Operation". United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "BreachForums down, and will not be back". DataBreaches.net. June 14, 2023 [March 21, 2023]. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ a b Lakshmanan, Ravie. "20-Year-Old BreachForums Founder Faces Up to 5 Years in Prison". The Hacker News. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ Podkul, Cezary. "Despite Decades of Hacking Attacks, Companies Leave Vast Amounts of Sensitive Data Unprotected". ProPublica. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ Krebs, Brian. "FBI's Vetted Info Sharing Network 'InfraGard' Hacked". KrebsOnSecurity. KrebsOnSecurity. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ Vicens, AJ. "Hacker tied to D.C. Health Link breach says attack 'born out of Russian patriotism'". CyberScoop. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ Bajak, Frank. "Congress members warned of significant health data breach". AP News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ "United States v. Fitzpatrick" (PDF). Courtlistener. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. p. 29. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ Arntz, Pieter. "BreachForums to be shut down after all for fear of law enforcement infiltration". Malwarebytes. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ Clarkin, Regina (April 28, 2023). "Accused Peekskill Cybercriminal Hospitalized Wednesday". Peekskill Herald. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ "Owner of BreachForums pleads guilty in federal court to three counts, including one involving child pornography". July 14, 2023. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Jones, Connor. "BreachForums admin jailed for flouting pretrial rules". The Register. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ "BreachForums hacking forum admin sentenced to 20 years supervised release". BleepingComputer. Archived from the original on March 17, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ "Domain Seized by Law Enforcement". breached.vc. Archived from the original on June 24, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Domain Seized by Law Enforcement". breached.to. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
External links
This page was last edited on 29 April 2024, at 08:56