The US Justice Department announced Friday the arrest of the founder of one of the World’s largest hacker forums and disruption of forum’s operation.
In a press release, the US Justice Department said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disrupted “BreachForums” marketplace for hacked and stolen data.
The statement added, “the founder of BreachForums made his initial appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia on a criminal charge related to his alleged creation and administration of a major hacking forum and marketplace for cybercriminals that claimed to have more than 340,000 members as of last week.
“In parallel with his arrest on March 15, the FBI and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) have conducted a disruption operation that caused BreachForums to go offline,” the statement noted.
According to court, documents unsealed today, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, 20yrs, of Peekskill, New York, allegedly operated BreachForums as a marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade hacked or stolen data and other contraband since March 2022.
Fitzpatrick’s alleged victims have included millions of US citizens and hundreds of US and foreign companies, organizations, and government agencies.
Fitzpatrick is charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Fitzpatrick’s arrest and the disruption of BreachForums comes nearly a year after the Department of Justice announced the seizure of a predecessor hacking marketplace, Raidforums, and unsealed criminal charges against RaidForums’ founder and chief administrator, who is the subject of extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom.
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