The FBI has just struck a major blow against cybercrime. As part of an operation called Talent, the American federal police seized several popular criminal platforms, namely Cracked.io, Nulled.to, Starkrdp.io, Mysellix.io, and Sellix.io.
These are forums heavily frequented by cybercriminals, particularly by apprentice hackers. On these platforms, accessible via a classic browser, budding scammers can in fact buy hacking kits, tutorials or even compromised data.
These are hubs for all illicit content. This is particularly the case for Cracked.io and Nulled.to, "which had more than 10 million users in total", according to Europol. The hackers earned 1 million euros in profits per year.
On Sellix and Mysellix, cybercriminals can instead find templates for shops dedicated to the sale of drugs, weapons or other illicit products.
Arrests in sight?
In the banner displayed on the seized forums, the FBI specifies that "information relating to customers and victims of this site has been seized by an international coalition of law enforcement agencies". Investigators therefore have a list of all the hackers who have taken to exchanging on the sites. For Clément Domingo, a cybersecurity researcher, all criminals who made the mistake of connecting with "their real email or did not go through VPNs" risk ending up in the hands of justice.
Prior to the FBI takeover, several computer security experts had noticed signs of a seizure operation against several domains belonging to Cracked and others. The server names were indeed renamed with the addition of the mention seized by the FBI.
According to Europol, law enforcement seized 17 servers and more than 50 electronic devices, 300,000 euros in cash and cryptocurrencies, and 7 properties.
On Telegram, the administrators of Cracked, one of the most frequented platforms on the list, confirm that "Cracked.io was seized as part of Operation Talent, although the precise reasons have not been disclosed". They say they are "awaiting official legal documentation from the data center and the domain host". It is "a sad day" for the pirate community, the message says.
Police from several countries, including France, were involved in Operation Talent. Following the seizure of the sites, the police arrested two suspects.
The closure of Manson Market is part of a series of police operations against black markets specializing in the sale of criminal tools. During the winter, the German police dismantled Crimenetwork, the largest German-speaking black market. A few weeks earlier, the FBI brought down PopeyeTools, a reference platform for cybercriminals who orchestrate phishing attacks.
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