ONE of the world’s largest online forums for stolen data has been taken down following a global law enforcement operation coordinated by Europol. LeakBase, an English-language site on the surface web dealing in stolen data including infostealer logs, saw coordinated action on 3 March with arrests, house searches and “knock-and-talk” interviews across the US, Australia, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the UK.
According to Europol, 37 of the most active users were targeted and dozens more, and the authorities moved the day after to seize two LeakBase domains and replace the homepage with a law enforcement notice promoting “Operation Leak.” As part of the operation, law enforcers also seized the forum’s customer database, and Europol has vowed to continue tracing and unmasking offenders who used the site.
Europol’s Edvardas Šileris said the operation shows no corner of the internet is beyond the reach of international law enforcement, and that those who traffic in stolen information will be brought to justice.