
As part of the international special operation “Talent”, law enforcement agencies of the United States, the European Criminal Police Organization (Europol) and other countries shut down hacker forums Cracked, Nulled, MySellIX and StarkRDP were subject to mass closure. These resources were used to sell hacked accounts, leak data and other cybercrime schemes.
The FBI and its international partners launched a large-scale operation against cybercriminals, as a result of which several major hacking platforms were taken down. Visitors to Cracked and Nulled noticed banners about the confiscation of their domains, confirming that these sites are now under the control of international law enforcement agencies. Cracked administrators initially believed that the shutdown was due to technical problems, but later the security service confirmed that the sites were closed. “This is a sad day for our community,” a forum representative wrote on the Telegram channel.
The closed sites performed various functions in the shadow sector of the Internet:
This is not the first time that law enforcement has resorted to such actions: in 2022, RaidForums was closed, and the following year, its successor BreachForums. While the closure of these forums is a serious blow to cybercrime, experts point to the possibility of new platforms emerging in the near future. Nevertheless, the operation shows that cooperation between states in the fight against cybercrime is deepening.