U.S. and EU police shut down LeakBase, a site accused of sharing stolen passwords and hacking tools

Source: TechCrunch

Overview

The U.S. and European law‑enforcement agencies have seized LeakBase, a forum described by prosecutors as “one of the world’s largest online forums for cybercriminals” that facilitated the sharing of stolen passwords and hacking tools.

LeakBase’s database reportedly contained over 142,000 members and more than 215,000 messages exchanged between them. Operating since 2021, the site maintained an archive of hacked databases, including hundreds of millions of account credentials, credit‑card numbers, and banking account and routing information.

Takedown Details

• Coordinated action: U.S. and European police acted earlier this week, redirecting the site’s domain to FBI‑controlled nameservers and seizing the entire database.
• Seizure notice: The forum now displays a notice stating that its contents, private messages, and IP‑address logs have been preserved.
• Enforcement scope: Europol reported around 100 enforcement actions worldwide, targeting the top 37 active users on the forum.
• Arrests and investigations: According to The Record, the investigation led to 13 arrests, searches, and interviews with 33 suspects, and the full capture of the forum’s database.

Image credit: TechCrunch (screenshot)

Impact

The takedown follows a series of recent operations against platforms that trade stolen credentials—data increasingly used to breach personal accounts and steal cryptocurrency. By dismantling LeakBase, authorities aim to disrupt the cyber‑crime ecosystem that relies on large‑scale credential dumps.

Image credit: Europol

References

• Europol statement:
• The Record interview with FBI cyber official Brett Leatherman:
• Current seizure notice on LeakBase: