Global law enforcement agencies have shut down the notorious cybercrime forum Darkode after a prolonged investigation into its members.

Reports are conflicting on how many people have been arrested in relation to the site, with numbers ranging from a dozen through to as many as 60, although there is some suggestion that authorities are pursing as many as 70 people in total.

Operating as an invite only site that operated on “tiers of membership based on knowledge, skill [and] illegal activity” according to the Department of Justice, the site ran for at least three years as a forum for more elite hackers and other various “bad actors,” and not only as a place where those people could discuss the darker arts of hacking, but where they were also able to sell software and related tools as well.

Among those arrested were Johan Anders Gudmunds, also known as Mafi, Crim and Synthet!c (multiple pseudonym’s are currently all the rage, apparently), who is alleged to be the mastermind behind, and admin for the site.

Along with being charged for running the site, Godmunds, said to be a 27-year old from Sweden, has also been charged with operating a botnet, as well as creating and selling malware to help other people create their own.

Morgan Culbertson, the FireEye Inc. intern that is alleged to be the creator of the Dendroid Android malware which we wrote about earlier, was also arrested as part of “Operation Shrouded Horizon.”

“The FBI has effectively smashed the hornets’ nest, and we are in the process of rounding up and charging the hornets,” said United States Attorney David Hickton said at a press conference.

A start

While the takedown of Darkode is a start of sorts, anyone with any base level of understanding of the Darkweb would equate the takedown as being similar to swatting a mosquito on a tropical island, sure you killed one, but there’s plenty more of them out there.

Credit where due though to the FBI, DOJ and the various global law enforcement agencies behind the raid and subsequent takedown: Darkode was a big player and although it won’t make a dent in the “bad actor” space, it does make for good headlines.

It’s not clear from reports when the trials for those arrested will take place, but no doubt we’ll be hearing more on the matter over the coming months and years.

Image credit: DOJ/ Public Domain