The rise and fall of Breached/BreachForums alternatives continue.
Exposed, the breached data forum on the darkweb that popped up in the cybersecurity news recently for publicly leaking the user database of the infamous RaidForums, is looking for a new owner.
Meanwhile, former Breached member “Baphomet” is back with another claim of launching a breached data forum. The name: BreachForums.
BreachForums alternatives: Exposed, abandoned
“We are looking for new owner! Since we don’t have enough time to maintain the forum, we are looking for a new owner to take on this responsibility,” said a post on the Exposed.VC Telegram channel.
‘We will try to take someone that sill not fuck up the forum (sic). If you want to be an owner, contact on Telegram,” it added
Explaining the move further, another member under the alias “Impotent” posted. “Why? I have got my hands on my dream project i have been waiting for, very long. (sic)”
“I want to pass the forum forward to someone that will continue it as tis in perfect shape.”
The announcement of abandoning Exposed come literally days after it publicly leaked a significant database from the notorious RaidForums.
RaidForums, a well-known gathering place for hackers to freely share stolen data and enhance their reputation, was seized in April 2022 during an international operation that resulted in the arrest of its administrator, Omnipotent.
Following the takedown of RaidForums, many of its members migrated to another infamous forum called Breached/BreachForums.
However, Breached met a similar fate in March 2023 when its owner Conor Brian Fitzpatrick AKA ‘Pompompurin was arrested by the FBI.
BreachForums alternatives: Baphomet is back, again!
Breached/BreachForums member under the alias “Baphomet” has been posting claims about launching a forum for some time, after “assuming” the Breached admin post after Pompompurin’s arrest.
“If you need your rank restored from BF, please PM me on the forum if | dont respond here,” Baphoment posted on Telegram.
“Provide anything from screenshots, to account information (email, etc) that can verify you. We are working on resolving the email issues but I will manually verify anyone until that point. Thanks for your patience.”
The last major update from “Baphomet” was in March, when he confirmed that he is taking down Breached/BreachForums. The update comes a day after Baphomet assured that the migration process is on, despite the issues.
BreachForums alternatives: The long story
BreachForums, which had 336,800 members before its closure, left its users searching for alternative platforms after the arrest of Conor Brian Fitzpatrick AKA ‘Pompompurin.
However, attempts to revive the forum proved futile, leading to mixed reactions among users who migrated to other cybercrime forums. One such forum, Exploit, experienced disgruntled members expressing their dissatisfaction with the influx of “e-migrants” from BreachForums.
The Telegram Group “Breach Forums,” administered by “Baphomet,” attracted close to 20,000 subscribers in March 2022, right after the arrest.
Additionally, a hacker claiming to be a former member of the hacktivist group Anonymous, using the Twitter handle @_pirata18, announced the creation of a BreachForums alternative called kkksecforum on March 27th, although the website is currently inaccessible.
Pwnedforums quickly gained attention, with some aspiring members publicly posting doxed data. A user with the Twitter handle @solminingpunk shared a list of emails, while another user under the handle @notdan warned against reporting, stating that the doxed data could be useful evidence for federal authorities.
Similar to other new BreachForums alternatives, Pwnedforums faced the challenge of convincing users that it was not a DDoS honeytrap.
Sinistery addressed these concerns in a post on April 1, emphasizing that pwnedforums was an independent platform founded and managed by a team dedicated to fostering open discussion and the exchange of hacking knowledge.
Around the time of BreachForums’ closure, UK law enforcement officials uncovered a network of thousands of cyber criminals involved in DDoS-for-hire schemes.
These criminals were caught attempting to attack a honeypot system set up by law enforcement agencies to lure cyber criminals. In a separate incident, German police raided FlyHosting, a web hosting company known for providing services to cybercriminals engaged in DDoS attacks and malware distribution.
The raid, conducted in early March, was part of an ongoing investigation into cybercrime activities. FlyHosting was allegedly involved in offering bulletproof hosting, which enables illegal activities to persist without being taken down by authorities.
Media Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The Cyber Express assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.