An international collaboration of law enforcement agencies has dismantled two hacking forums that boasted over 10 million users, as reported by Europol, which was part of the operation.
On Thursday, Europol, alongside Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), revealed the takedown of the forums Cracked and Nulled, which the BKA referred to as “the largest cybercrime trading platforms in the world,” based on a machine translation of their press release.
The confirmation of this operation came a day after cybersecurity experts discovered that Cracked, Nulled, and two other platforms, Sellix and StarkRDP, appeared to have been seized by redirecting their domain names to servers controlled by the FBI. Subsequently, these four sites displayed a notice detailing the law enforcement initiative, termed “Operation Talent.”
Europol stated that “These platforms served as comprehensive resources, facilitating not only discussions on cybercrime but also acting as marketplaces for illicit goods and cybercrime-as-a-service offerings, including stolen data, malware, and hacking tools,” in its official announcement.
A statement released on Wednesday through Cracked’s official Telegram account indicated that the site had been taken over “for reasons that remain undisclosed.”
Europol indicated that the operation spanned from Tuesday to Thursday, leading to two arrests, the search of seven locations, and the confiscation of 17 servers, 50 electronic devices, and €300,000 ($313,000) in both cash and cryptocurrency.
As per the BKA, the international law enforcement coalition seized numerous accounts and domains across ten countries. Furthermore, 12 individuals were identified as involved in the management of these cybercrime platforms, with two German nationals arrested—one residing in Germany and the other in Spain. Additionally, two others are set to face prosecution in the U.S., Spain, and Greece. Authorities acquired vital information such as email addresses, IP addresses, and communication logs from the seized forums.
A video shared by Europol displays Spanish law enforcement agencies, including the Policia Nacional and Guardia Civil, entering a property, making three arrests, counting cash, conducting searches, and viewing the computer displaying the seizure notice.
The operation, primarily led by German law enforcement, involved several agencies from countries such as Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, and Spain, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.
The Australian Federal Police indicated via email that they would provide further updates at an appropriate time. Meanwhile, the other involved agencies have not yet responded to TechCrunch’s inquiries.
Get In Touch
If you have any additional information regarding Operation Talent or other initiatives targeting cybercrime, please reach out securely to Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai via Signal at +1 917 257 1382 from a non-work device, or through Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. You can also contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.
Operation Talent marks the latest effort in an ongoing series of law enforcement actions against cybercrime forums, including the infamous BreachForums, which was first seized in 2023 and again in 2024. Later in 2024, another coordinated international police initiative, named Operation Endgame, targeted multiple hacking services and malware creators, leading to the arrest of four individuals. During that operation, Europol also cited eight fugitives thought to be involved in the activities.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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