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A malicious operator connected to the running of a popular hacking forum, ‘BreachForums,’ was arrested last March 15, accomplished by US law enforcement. Identified his real name as Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, the BreachForums website owner who has hidden under the codename ‘Pompompurin,’ admitted to all the charges against him.
Reports revealed that the accused was charged with a count of soliciting his clients and selling unauthorised access to hacked infrastructures. After shelling out a $300,000 bond, the BreachForums operator has temporarily been released and will appear in the Eastern District of Virginia District Court on March 24.
The arrested BreachForums operator has been barred from travelling and making contact with his accomplices.
Authorities also shared that Pompompurin cannot obtain a passport or any travel documents, alongside being prohibited from contacting his accomplices and fellow BreachForums administrators. He was also forbidden from taking narcotics without a licensed medical practitioner’s prescription.
The arrest of the BreachForums operator allowed another administrator under the name ‘Baphomet’ to take control of the malicious website, who also announced Pompompurin’s arrest and stated that there was no evidence of access or modifications to the website’s infrastructure.
Baphomet also noted that they are working through mitigation steps and emergency plans for the dark web forum, reminding users to be patient and not “lose their minds.”
However, on March 20, our iZOOlogic researchers found BreachForums’ website inaccessible. A bad gateway error page shows up upon visiting the website, which could suggest a nearing shutdown of its infrastructure through the hands of law enforcement agencies.
On the other hand, the site’s current inaccessibility could also imply that its remaining administrators are performing internal procedures and emergency plans. Thus, it is too soon to presume BreachForums’ seizure from authorities until it has been confirmed.
After the seizure of another infamous dark web forum ‘RaidForums’ in March last year, BreachForums subsequently emerged three weeks later. The welcoming threat posted by Pompompurin at that time discussed creating BreachForums as an alternative to RaidForums, but he clarified that the new forum was not affiliated with the latter in any capacity.
Since then, BreachForums has gained traction among cybercriminals and malicious actors who buy databases stolen from companies and organisations. The dark web forum, a popular marketplace for high-profile data breaches, could now be on the verge of collapsing completely.
As of March 21, the BreachForums administrators announced that they would be taking down the website for good following the losses they incurred from the seizure. The operators had also set up a Telegram channel dedicated to any further updates related to the data leak site.
As of March 26, the BreachForums administrators announced that the FBI has access to the platform’s database. In the post deemed as ‘the most important update to read,’ people were asked to read the court documents released during the authorities’ investigation into Baphomet.
