Thread: Darkode hacking forum forced offline

Darkode hacking forum forced offline

By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

• 3 hours ago
• From the section Technology

The Darkode forum, which was created about six years ago, can no longer be accessed

Darkode - a notorious hacking forum used by Lizard Squad and other cybercriminals - has been shut down after an investigation carried out by authorities in 20 countries.

"We have dismantled a cyber-hornets' nest... which was believed by many, including the hackers themselves, to be impenetrable," said one of the US state attorneys involved.

Twenty-eight people have been arrested.

They include a 26-year-old man from Coventry, England.

In addition, the UK's National Crime Agency said an address in Paisley, Scotland, had been searched and material removed for examination. It said that five other suspected members of the site had previously been arrested.

The FBI added that dozens of other people linked to the site had been charged or had their property searched as part of the inquiry.

Restricted access

Darkode's members allegedly used the site to trade and to share hacking tools and information, including details of zero-day attacks - techniques that exploited flaws in products that neither their creators nor the wider security industry were aware of, and thus could not be protected against.

This information was password-protected.

"Only those proposed for membership by an existing user could join, but not until they posted a resume of the skills and achievements that could contribute to the criminal community," explained the NCA.

"There was a hierarchical membership structure, and the status of users determined who they could communicate with, and their access to the commodities and services on offer."

Although the site was not accessible to the general public, it was profiled extensively by the security blogger Brian Krebs, who posted several screenshots on his site.


Botnets - networks of hijacked computers used to mount co-ordinated attacks - were promoted on the site

"Most of the cybercrime forums are in Russian or some other language that's not English, but this was an English-language forum," he told the BBC.

"And it was a sort of meeting ground for cybercriminals from different nationalities and languages.

"A fairly significant number of people were selling botnet services there, and there were also services for deploying malware and phishing."

He added that the forum's visitors included members of Lizard Squad - a group of hackers which has carried out high-profile attacks on Sony, Microsoft and others.

"The guy that was most recently the admin of the forum used the nickname Sp3c," Mr Krebs recalled.

"He was a leading member of the Lizard Squad. What's interesting is that you don't see his name in the lists of those that were apprehended or charged as part of this.

"I don't really know what that means, but there was a definite connection between the Lizard Squad and this forum, at least in the last year or so."

The FBI said that Operation Shrouded Horizon had indicated up to 300 people had used the forum.

"During the investigation, the bureau focused primarily on the Darkode members responsible for developing, distributing, facilitating and supporting the most egregious and complex cybercriminal schemes targeting victims and financial systems," it said.

It added that its counterparts in Australia, Bosnia, Brazil, Israel, Colombia and Nigeria were among those involved in the international crackdown, and that efforts to trace other suspects were "ongoing".

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33542490

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Cyber Criminal Forum Taken Down

Members Arrested in 20 Countries
07/15/15

It was, in effect, a one-stop, high-volume shopping venue for some of the world’s most prolific cyber criminals. Called Darkode, this underground, password-protected, online forum was a meeting place for those interested in buying, selling, and trading malware, botnets, stolen personally identifiable information, credit card information, hacked server credentials, and other pieces of data and software that facilitated complex cyber crimes all over the globe.

Unbeknownst to the operators of this invitation-only, English-speaking criminal forum, though, the FBI had infiltrated this communication platform at the highest levels and began collecting evidence and intelligence on Darkode members.

And today, the Department of Justice and the FBI—with the assistance of our partners in 19 countries around the world—announced the results of Operation Shrouded Horizon, a multi-agency investigation into the Darkode forum. Among those results were charges, arrests, and searches involving 70 Darkode members and associates around the world; U.S. indictments against 12 individuals associated with the forum, including its administrator; the serving of several search warrants in the U.S.; and the Bureau’s seizure of Darkode’s domain and servers.



The above message was displayed on the Darkode homepage after the FBI seized its web domain and servers.

Said FBI Deputy Director Mark Giuliano, “Cyber criminals should not have a safe haven to shop for the tools of their trade, and Operation Shrouded Horizon shows we will do all we can to disrupt their unlawful activities.”

During the investigation, the Bureau focused primarily on the Darkode members responsible for developing, distributing, facilitating, and supporting the most egregious and complex cyber criminal schemes targeting victims and financial systems around the world, including in the United States.

The Darkode forum, which had between 250-300 members, operated very carefully—not just anyone could join. Ever fearful of compromise by law enforcement, Darkode administrators made sure prospective members were heavily vetted.
Similar to practices used by the Mafia, a potential candidate for forum membership had to be sponsored by an existing member and sent a formal invitation to join. In response, the candidate had to post an online introduction—basically, a resume—highlighting the individual’s past criminal activity, particular cyber skills, and potential contributions to the forum. The forum’s active members decided whether to approve applications.

Once in the forum, members—in addition to buying and selling criminal cyber products and services—used it to exchange ideas, knowledge, and advice on any number of cyber-related fraud schemes and other illegal activities. It was almost like a think tank for cyber criminals.

What’s the significance of this case, believed to be the largest-ever coordinated law enforcement effort directed at an online cyber criminal forum? In addition to shutting down a major resource for cyber criminals, law enforcement infiltrated a closed criminal forum—no easy task—to obtain the intelligence and evidence needed to identity and prosecute these criminals. And this action paid off with a treasure trove of information that ultimately led to the dismantlement of the forum and law enforcement actions against dozens of its worst criminal members around the world.

The case was led by the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, with assistance from our offices in Washington, San Diego, and a number of others around the country. But it wouldn’t have happened without the support of Europol and other partners in 19 countries. And in addition to the FBI obtaining enough evidence for search warrants and indictments in the U.S., we shared information with our foreign partners to help them make their own cases against the Darkode perpetrators residing in their jurisdictions.

Operation Shrouded Horizon is a prime example of why the most effective way to combat cyber crime—which operates globally—is a law enforcement response that also transcends national borders.

Resources:
- Press release
- FBI, This Week podcast
- More on the FBI’s Cyber Division

FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. government,
U.S. Department of Justice

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/201...rum-taken-down

10/2/13

http://www.alipac.us/f9/feds-shut-do...tplace-289031/