To stay ahead of these threats, cybersecurity experts and organizations must remain committed to sharing threat intelligence, developing innovative solutions, and collaborating with law enforcement agencies. By working together, we can mitigate the risks associated with cybercrime and create a safer, more secure online environment.
The forum was seized by U.S. and international law enforcement in May 2023. Its administrator, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick (“pompompurin”), was arrested and pleaded guilty. As of 2024–2025, copycat or successor forums (“BreachForums 2.0”, “Breached.vc”) have appeared, but they are not the original operation.
Despite being illegal, BreachForums (and its data corpus) offers valuable intelligence for defenders: BreachForums
BreachForums became the stock exchange for IABs. Instead of hacking a target themselves, ransomware gangs (LockBit, BlackCat/ALPHV) would buy "access" posted on the forum. The price of access to a hospital network? Sometimes as low as $500.
The data traded on BreachForums was often categorized by type, with sections dedicated to: To stay ahead of these threats, cybersecurity experts
(auto-generated checklist)
BreachForums is a notorious English-language cybercrime forum and marketplace primarily used for the sale, trade, and discussion of leaked databases, hacking tools, and other illicit services . It emerged in early 2022 as a successor to after that site was seized by U.S. authorities . Core Activities and Content and international law enforcement in May 2023
Over 80% of posted leaks came from info-stealers, reused passwords, and exposed APIs – not zero-days.