The internet is riddled with news about data breaches and personal information sold on dark web forums. However, cybercriminals are also not immune from the same threat - getting their data stolen.
What happened
The hacker forum, WeLeakData[.]com, was found to be defunct in January this year, leading to the suspicion that it is connected to the seizure of a similar site, WeLeakInfo[.]com, by the FBI. Although this connection has not been confirmed yet. Right after WeLeakData became offline, another site - leaksmarket[.]com - appeared with the same data.
The situation
- The data breach was confirmed by Cyble, when WeLeakData[.]com was put up for sale in April.
- The database that turned up for sale was found to contain email addresses of account holders, IP addresses, usernames, and hashed passwords, along with private communication between the members of the group.
What the experts are saying
- The owner of the compromised site is unreachable and unresponsive.
- The owner of WeLeakData has been allegedly arrested as part of the recent crackdowns by Europol.
- Various cybercrime groups have stated that this crackdown has disrupted their operations.
Worth noting
- The entire database of the breached site can be found here.
- This is not the first time a cybercrime forum has been taken down. LeakedSource was busted in 2016, with the arrest of a Canadian citizen. A year after that, a site - LeakBase[.]pw - suddenly disappeared.
In essence
This is one of the most interesting developments in the cybercrime market since WeLeakData is offline. The irony is in the fact that data thieves finally have found themselves on the receiving end.
Publisher
/https://cyware-ent.s3.amazonaws.com/image_bank/0d08_shutterstock_248596792.jpg)
/https://cyware-ent.s3.amazonaws.com/image_bank/6168_shutterstock_239537953.jpg)
