BreachForums Former Admin Attempts Suicide: 19-year-old Conor Fitzpatrick, also known as Pompompurin, the former administrator of BreachForums, is reportedly hospitalized following a suicide attempt.
“Regina Clarkin, founder and publisher of the PeekskillHerald.com, says Conor Fitzpatrick, the 19-year-old arrested last month by the FBI for allegedly being the admin of BreachForums, was taken by ambulance from his home this morning,” Cybersecurity researcher Briak Krebs posted today.
“Clarkin said neighbors saw him being wheeled out on a stretcher, unresponsive and with oxygen. Chatter on the channels he frequented say he attempted suicide,” he added, while commenting about why BreachForums former admin attempts suicide.
Fitzpatrick was arrested by the FBI last month for his alleged involvement in the sale of stolen data on the dark web marketplace. The news of his hospitalization has created mixed reactions online, with many expressing concern for his well-being while others say that they knew this was coming.
The circumstances surrounding Fitzpatrick’s suicide attempt remain unclear, but it has brought attention to the pressures those involved in the online hacking community face.
The Cyber Express has sent requests for comments to both Peekskill Police and Peekskill Herald, and is awaiting response from both the parties.
BreachForums Former Admin Attempts Suicide: The Arrest of Conor Brian Fitzpatrick
Ahead of BreachForums Former Admin Attempts Suicide, an arrest was recorded. The arrest of Conor Brian Fitzpatrick was made by a group of investigators at his residence on March 15, as stated in a sworn statement submitted by FBI Special Agent John Langmire to the Southern District of New York’s District Court the following day.
Fitzpatrick has been charged with a single offense of conspiring to commit “access device fraud.”
Following Fitzpatrick’s arrest, another administrator took over the website and shared the news with the members, stating that they have most if not all, the access necessary to protect BreachForum’s infrastructure and users.
Baphomet arrives post Fitzpatrick’s arrest
Last month, the arrest of Pompompurin by the FBI caused a ripple effect on the dark web marketplace, causing a shift in the activities of the forum. Following Pompompurin’s arrest, the forum went offline, leaving many questioning its future.
However, it was only a short time before a new administrator named Baphomet announced that he was taking over the forum. Baphomet initially released a statement on Telegram reassuring users that he was still active and had not been arrested. However, he posted a farewell announcement shortly after, bidding adieu to BreachForums.
After some desperate attempts, Baphomet abandoned the plan to revive BreachedForums. Baphomet’s departure has left many uncertain about the future of the forum. Baphomet has not released any statement over BreachForums former admin attempts suicide.
BreachForums clones emerge
The hacking community is a tight-knit group of individuals who are always on the lookout for the latest tools and techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems. When news of Pompompurin’s arrest broke out, it shocked the community. The fallout was immediate, with many hackers scrambling to find a new forums to conduct their nefarious activities.
When shutting down, BreachForums had 336,800 members who were desperately seeking alternatives. Clones promptly popped up after BreachForums went down to catch as many users as possible. Efforts to revive the forum were unsuccessful, and the influx of users to other cybercrime forums has caused mixed reactions.
According to Cybernews, users of the Russia-linked cybercrime forum Exploit were already dissatisfied with the sudden influx of e-migrants.
One Exploit user complained that now that Breached is down, a slew of skids will join Exploit, and the admins should raise the registration price to stop the influx. The Telegram Group “Breach Forums,” run by former BreachForums admin “Baphomet,” currently has almost 20,000 subscribers.
A hacker claiming to be a former member of Anonymous was among the first to claim to have set up a BreachForums alternative. On March 27, the ex-Anonymous hacker, who uses the Twitter handle @_pirata18, claimed to have established a breached data forum called kkksecforum, which is currently inaccessible. Pwnedforums also quickly garnered attention, and some prospective members publicly posted doxed data.
A user with the Twitter handle @solminingpunk posted a list of emails. Another user, using the handle @notdan, warned, “Don’t be a snitch. This is free evidence for feds.” In the vacuum created by the shutdown of BreachForums, several clone forums emerged, each trying to fill the void left by the popular hacking forum. Among these clones, PwnedForums quickly gained popularity among the community due to its resemblance to BreachForums.
Cybersecurity company Falcon Feeds reports that PwnedForums is a BreachForums clone and has even used the same favicon as the original forum to take advantage of its brand recognition. The company has warned that PwnedForums could be used to spread malware or conduct phishing attacks, making it a significant cybersecurity threat.
However, Falcon Feeds’ warning has not deterred users from joining PwnedForums. The forum has a large user base, and its members continue to share tips, tools, and techniques to carry out cyberattacks. Some experts believe that the emergence of PwnedForums and other clone forums resulted from the government’s crackdown on hacking forums.
Breached data forums and honeypots
Pwnedforums, like almost all new BreachForums alternatives, had to address concerns about being a DDoS honeytrap. Sinistery posted on April 1, “We have recently become aware of concerns circulating among some members of our community, suggesting that our platform may be a ‘honeypot’ operated by federal authorities.”
Sinistery claimed that Pwnedforums is an independent platform founded and managed by a team of dedicated individuals passionate about creating a space for open discussion and the exchange of hacking knowledge. Prior to the BreachForums shutdown, UK law enforcement officials uncovered a network of several thousand cybercriminals involved in DDoS-for-hire schemes.
The criminals were caught trying to attack a honeypot system set up by law enforcement agencies to lure cybercriminals. German police recently raided FlyHosting, a web-hosting company known for providing services to cybercriminals involved in DDoS attacks.
The raid was part of an ongoing investigation into cybercrime activities in early March. FlyHosting was allegedly involved in hosting DDoS-for-hire services and malware distribution and reportedly offered bulletproof hosting.