U.S. and EU police shut down LeakBase, a site accused of sharing stolen passwords and hacking tools

In a significant operation, law enforcement agencies from the United States and Europe have dismantled LeakBase, a notorious platform known for facilitating the exchange of stolen passwords and hacking tools. This crackdown, carried out earlier this week, has been characterized by prosecutors as a critical blow to one of the largest online havens for cybercriminals. LeakBase has been operational since 2021, boasting a staggering membership of over 142,000 individuals and more than 215,000 messages exchanged among users. The site maintained an extensive archive containing hacked databases that were alarmingly rich in sensitive information, including hundreds of millions of account credentials, credit card details, and banking information. This action is part of a broader initiative targeting websites that deal in stolen credentials, which are increasingly exploited to infiltrate personal accounts and steal valuable data and cryptocurrency. Europol reported that around 100 enforcement actions were executed globally, focusing particularly on the 37 most active participants of the forum. In a decisive move, the FBI redirected LeakBase's domain to servers under their control, effectively rendering the site inactive. Users now encounter a seizure notice indicating that the site's contents, including private messages and IP address logs, have been secured for further investigation. According to an interview with Brett Leatherman, a cyber official at the FBI, this investigation has led to over 13 arrests and the interrogation of 33 suspects, alongside the capture of the entire database of the forum.