RaidForums, Host of Stolen Data, Taken Down

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Site had personal info of millions of people

RaidForums, the largest English-language marketplace for stolen personal data, has gone offline. A coalition of law enforcement agencies has taken down the site, where traders bought and sold the data of millions of people. Diogo Santos Coelho, a 21-year-old Portuguese man who allegedly ran RaidForums from 2015 to this January, is in police custody and the U.S. is seeking his extradition. The forum contained Social Security numbers and credit card and bank information.

“The takedown of this online market for the resale of hacked or stolen data disrupts one of the major ways cybercriminals profit from the large-scale theft of sensitive personal and financial information,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr., head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said in a statement.

RaidForums members uploaded information hacked from databases and earned “credits” on the site for instructing others on how to gain more data. “God”-level members had nearly unlimited access to millions of people’s information.

The FBI and Justice Department collaborated with Europol and agencies in several European countries to take down the site and arrest Coelho, who was a teenager when he began running RaidForums. Coelho was arrested in the U.K. in January, and another suspected site founder was arrested in the U.K. in March.

“Disruption has always been a key technique in operating against threat actors online, so targeting forums that host huge amounts of stolen data keeps criminals on their toes,” Edvardas Šileris, head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, told The Associated Press. “Europol will continue working with its international partners to make cybercrime harder — and riskier — to commit.”

While the ringleaders are in custody, there are countless RaidForums members who are still free, likely migrating to other sites, making this just one step in a seemingly unending battle against cybercrime. The site had more than half a million registered members, according to cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Recommended for you

Why is AI consulting becoming important?

Organizations do not want to stay behind. They want to improve all business processes. AI consulting is an option that helps them achieve this goal.

How Do Cybercriminals Hack Retirement Plans?

Cybercriminals use a suite of strategies to take over people’s accounts. Here are some of the most widely used techniques.

How the Singapore Government Uses Mobile Apps to Make the City Smart

According to all relevant studies and reports on the topic, we can see that Singapore is the smartest city in the world.

Which Trends in Digital Marketing Should We Anticipate Continuing Into the Future?

When we seek for something on the internet, we put ourselves in the path of digital marketing because the internet is available on practically all digital devices.

Edge of Tomorrow

For over 25 years, Inseego Corp. (Nasdaq: INSG) has been broadening the limits of wireless technology, providing superior wireless connectivity for global service providers, enterprises, and government entities.

University of Central Florida: A World Apart

Within its 13 colleges, the University of Central Florida offers 240 bachelor’s degree programs, 215 master’s degree programs, and 81 doctorate programs, conferring more than 18,000 degrees annually.

What do you Tip an Automaton?

Delivery robots have been a hit on college campuses, and now they’re ready to graduate to the big time. These coolers on wheels still do best in confined areas without too many obstacles to navigate, but these treat-toting trolleys might be delivering near you soon.