Earlier this year, the FBI announced the shutdown of Cracked, a criminal forum specializing in sharing and selling compromised data. Through the platform, millions of cybercriminals were able to get their hands on stolen information and hacking tools. All of the forum's servers were seized by law enforcement.
Millions of Hackers Return to Cracked
A few weeks after the FBI's crackdown, Cracked made a comeback. Through a new domain name, the administrators gave Meet the millions of registered hackers on the site. Administrators report that they were able to import a backup of the site from January 25, a few days before the FBI attack. In fact, most of the exchanges, conversations, and accounts were not lost. The new version of Cracked also claims to have already 4.7 million users. Registered hackers were able to recover their accounts around mid-April. More than 1 million discussion threads and more than 36 million messages were also back online.
Furthermore, the administrators assure that all Cracked servers were encrypted. FBI agents would therefore not have been able to get their hands on data concerning all the platform's users. "The authorities were unable to consult your personal data", states the publication announcing the forum's revival. They also promise "a new online payment system", proof that the FBI's attacks have not affected hackers' ambition.
Criminal forums, a persistent threat
It is not uncommon for criminal platforms to survive attacks by the authorities without too much difficulty. Hubs of the stolen data market, such as the essential BreachForums, have developed the habit of rising from the ashes, a few months or weeks after a forced closure by the police. All it takes is for the hackers to have a backup for the site to come back strong with a new domain name.
In most cases, the arrest of the administrators is not enough to put an end to a criminal site. Again, the case of BreachForums proves it. Although the forum's founder was arrested and imprisoned, BreachForums was put back online. Another group of cybercriminals has indeed decided to take over.
Source: CyberNews
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