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BreachForums Returns Just Weeks After FBI Seizure - Honeypot or Blunder?

BreachForums Returns Just Weeks After FBI Seizure - Honeypot or Blunder?

May 29, 2024 Cyber Crime / Data Breach
The online criminal bazaar BreachForums has been resurrected merely two weeks after a U.S.-led coordinated law enforcement action dismantled and seized control of its infrastructure. Cybersecurity researchers and dark web trackers Brett Callow , Dark Web Informer , and FalconFeeds revealed the site's online return at breachforums[.]st – one of the dismantled sites – by a user named ShinyHunters, who has since offered for sale a 1.3 TB database containing details of allegedly 560 million Ticketmaster customers for $500,000. This includes full names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, ticket sales and event information, and the last four digits of credit cards and their associated expiration dates. However, in an interesting twist, visitors of the site are now being asked to sign up for an account in order to view the content. The development follows a joint law enforcement action that seized all the new domains belonging to BreachForums (breachforums[.]st/.cx/.is/.
FBI Seizes BreachForums Again, Urges Users to Report Criminal Activity

FBI Seizes BreachForums Again, Urges Users to Report Criminal Activity

May 15, 2024 Data Breach / Cyber Crime
Law enforcement agencies have officially seized control of the notorious  BreachForums  platform, an online bazaar known for peddling stolen data, for the second time within a year. The website ("breachforums[.]st") has been replaced by a seizure banner stating the clearnet cybercrime forum is under the control of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  The operation is the result of a collaborative effort from authorities in Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Switzerland, the U.K., the U.S., and Ukraine. The FBI has also taken control of the  Telegram channel  operated by Baphomet, who became the administrator of the forum following the  arrest  of his predecessor Conor Brian Fitzpatrick (aka  pompompurin ) in March last year. It's worth noting a prior iteration of BreachForums, hosted at breached.vc/.to/.co and managed by pompompurin, was seized by law enforcement in late June 2023. "This Telegram chat is under the control of the FBI," a message
How to Increase Engagement with Your Cybersecurity Clients Through vCISO Reporting

How to Increase Engagement with Your Cybersecurity Clients Through vCISO Reporting

Jul 22, 2024vCISO / Business Security
As a vCISO, you are responsible for your client's cybersecurity strategy and risk governance. This incorporates multiple disciplines, from research to execution to reporting. Recently, we published a comprehensive playbook for vCISOs, "Your First 100 Days as a vCISO – 5 Steps to Success" , which covers all the phases entailed in launching a successful vCISO engagement, along with recommended actions to take, and step-by-step examples.  Following the success of the playbook and the requests that have come in from the MSP/MSSP community, we decided to drill down into specific parts of vCISO reporting and provide more color and examples. In this article, we focus on how to create compelling narratives within a report, which has a significant impact on the overall MSP/MSSP value proposition.  This article brings the highlights of a recent guided workshop we held, covering what makes a successful report and how it can be used to enhance engagement with your cyber security clients.
BreachForums Founder Sentenced to 20 Years of Supervised Release, No Jail Time

BreachForums Founder Sentenced to 20 Years of Supervised Release, No Jail Time

Jan 23, 2024 Cyber Crime / Dark Web
Conor Brian Fitzpatrick has been sentenced to time served and 20 years of supervised release for his role as the creator and administrator of BreachForums. Fitzpatrick, who went by the online alias "pompompurin," was arrested in March 2023 in New York and was subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and possession of child pornography. He was later released on a $300,000 bond, and in July 2023, he pleaded guilty to the charges. BreachForums was a major cyber crime marketplace that facilitated the trafficking of stolen data since March 2022. Prior to its shutdown exactly a year later, the website boasted of over 340,000 members. Among the stolen items commonly sold on the platform were bank account information, Social Security numbers, personally identifying information (PII), hacking tools, breached databases, and account login information for compromised online accounts with service providers and merchants. BreachForums also advertised servic
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Free OAuth Investigation Checklist - How to Uncover Risky or Malicious Grants

websiteNudge SecuritySaaS Security / Supply Chain
OAuth grants provide yet another way for attackers to compromise identities. Download our free checklist to learn what to look for and where when reviewing OAuth grants for potential risks.
Owner of BreachForums Pleads Guilty to Cybercrime and Child Pornography Charges

Owner of BreachForums Pleads Guilty to Cybercrime and Child Pornography Charges

Jul 18, 2023 Cybercrime / Data Breach
Conor Brian Fitzpatrick , the owner of the now-defunct BreachForums website, has pleaded guilty to charges related to his operation of the cybercrime forum as well as having child pornography images. The development,  first reported  by DataBreaches.net last week, comes nearly four months after Fitzpatrick (aka pompompurin) was  formally charged  in the U.S. with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and possession of child pornography. BreachForums, launched in March 2022, operated as an illegal marketplace that allowed its members to trade hacked or stolen databases, enabling other criminal actors to gain unauthorized access to target systems. It was shut down in March 2023 shortly after  Fitzpatrick's arrest  in New York. As many as 888 databases consisting of 14 billion individual records are estimated to have been found in total. The forum had over 333,000 members prior to its takedown. "The purpose of BreachForums, and Fitzpatrick's intent in operating the f
Kodi Confirms Data Breach: 400K User Records and Private Messages Stolen

Kodi Confirms Data Breach: 400K User Records and Private Messages Stolen

Apr 14, 2023 Data Breach / Cyber Security
Open source media player software provider Kodi has confirmed a data breach after threat actors stole the company's MyBB forum database containing user data and private messages. What's more, the unknown threat actors  attempted to sell  the data dump  comprising 400,635 Kodi users  on the now-defunct  BreachForums  cybercrime marketplace. "MyBB admin logs show the account of a trusted but currently inactive member of the forum admin team was used to access the web-based MyBB admin console twice: on 16 February and again on 21 February," Kodi  said  in an advisory. The threat actors then abused the account to create database backups that were then downloaded and deleted. Also downloaded were existing nightly full backups of the database. The account in question has now been disabled. The nightly backups contained all public forum posts, team forum posts, messages sent through the user-to-user messaging system, and user information such as forum username, email a
20-Year-Old BreachForums Founder Faces Up to 5 Years in Prison

20-Year-Old BreachForums Founder Faces Up to 5 Years in Prison

Mar 27, 2023 Cyber Crime / Data Breach
Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, the 20-year-old founder and the administrator of the now-defunct BreachForums has been  formally charged  in the U.S. with conspiracy to commit access device fraud. If proven guilty, Fitzpatrick, who went by the online moniker "pompompurin," faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison. He was  arrested  on March 15, 2023. "Cybercrime victimizes and steals financial and personal information from millions of innocent people," said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. "This arrest sends a direct message to cybercriminals: your exploitative and illegal conduct will be discovered, and you will be brought to justice." The development comes days after Baphomet, the individual who had taken over the responsibilities of BreachForums,  shut down the website , citing concerns that law enforcement may have obtained access to its backend. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has since confirmed that it co
BreachForums Administrator Baphomet Shuts Down Infamous Hacking Forum

BreachForums Administrator Baphomet Shuts Down Infamous Hacking Forum

Mar 22, 2023 Cyber Crime / Hacking
In a sudden turn of events, Baphomet, the current administrator of BreachForums, said in an update on March 21, 2023, that the hacking forum has been officially taken down but emphasized that "it's not the end." "You are allowed to hate me, and disagree with my decision but I promise what is to come will be better for us all," Baphomet noted in a message posted on the BreachForums Telegram channel. The  shutdown  is suspected to have been prompted by suspicions that law enforcement may have obtained access to the site's configurations, source code, and information about the forum's users. The development follows the  arrest of its administrator  Conor Brian Fitzpatrick (aka "pompompurin"), who has been charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud. Over the past few months, BreachForums filled the void left by RaidForums last year, becoming a lucrative destination to purchase and sell stolen databases from variou
Pompompurin Unmasked: Infamous BreachForums Mastermind Arrested in New York

Pompompurin Unmasked: Infamous BreachForums Mastermind Arrested in New York

Mar 18, 2023 Cyber Crime / Data Breach
U.S. law enforcement authorities have arrested a 21-year-old New York man in connection with running the infamous BreachForums hacking forum under the online alias " Pompompurin ." The development, first reported by  Bloomberg Law , comes after News 12 Westchester, earlier this week, said that federal investigators "spent hours inside and outside of a home in Peekskill." "At one point, investigators were seen removing several bags of evidence from the house," the New York-based local news service  added . According  to an  affidavit  filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the suspect identified himself as Conor Brian Fitzpatrick and admitted to being the owner of the BreachForums website. "When I arrested the defendant on March 15, 2023, he stated to me in substance and in part that: a) his name was Conor Brian Fitzpatrick; b) he used the alias 'pompompurin,' and c) he was the owner and administrator of 'BreachForums,&#
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