The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seizes control of major cybercrime forums, including the domain names of infamous hacking forums Cracked.io and Nulled.to, in its latest crackdown on cybercrime.

Although the FBI has released no statement on the seizures, visitors to the forums were presented with a banner stating that “this website has been seized” as part of “Operation Talent.” The banner then adds that the website, as well as information on customers and victims of the website, has been seized by international law enforcement partners.

International law enforcement logos in the banner include those for the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, the Australian Federal Police and others. The name servers for the sites also now point to fbi.seized.gov.

According to Bleeping Computer, the seizure has also been confirmed by Cracked.io’s staff, who wrote on Telegram that “now that everyone has more clarity on the situation, Cracked.io has been seized under operation talent with specific reasons being undisclosed.”

“We are still waiting for the official court documentation from the data center and the domain host,” the message on Telegram added. “We will inform you guys further on those details once we have it. A sad day indeed for our community.”

Cracked.io and Nulled.to were online forums that facilitated various cybercriminal activities. The forums served as hubs for sharing and distributing cracked software, stolen credentials and hacking tools, contributing to unauthorized access and data breaches across numerous organizations.

On the forums, users frequently exchanged “combo lists” — compilations of stolen usernames and passwords. The lists were often employed in credential-stuffing attacks, where cybercriminals attempt to gain unauthorized access to accounts by exploiting reused passwords. The forums provided tools and tutorials to assist in these malicious activities.

The two forums additionally featured sections dedicated to hacking tutorials, tools and discussions on exploiting website vulnerabilities. Forum users could find resources on various hacking techniques, including SQL injection and phishing methods, as well as access to malicious software designed to facilitate unauthorized data access.

Though there’s no argument that it’s the duty of law enforcement to go after such platforms, it’s not a matter of if but how soon the forums will return, under the same name or a new name. The recent operation where the FBI seizes control of major cybercrime forums highlights the ongoing battle between authorities and cybercriminal networks.

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