FBI and Europol Seize LeakBase Forum Used to Trade Stolen Credentials

Published:

5 maart 2026 om 06:34:00

Alert date:

5 maart 2026 om 08:01:52

Source:

thehackernews.com

Data Breach & Exfiltration, Ransomware & Malware, Identity & Access

FBI and Europol conducted a joint law enforcement operation that successfully dismantled LeakBase, one of the world's largest online forums for cybercriminals. The forum was used to buy and sell stolen data and cybercrime tools. LeakBase had over 142,000 members and more than 215,000 messages between members as of December 2025. Users attempting to access the forum's website at leakbase[.]la are now unable to do so following the seizure. This represents a significant blow to the cybercriminal ecosystem and underground marketplace operations.

Technical details

LeakBase was a cybercriminal forum with over 142,000 members and 215,000 messages that specialized in trading stolen data including hacked databases, account credentials, financial information, credit/debit card numbers, banking information, and stealer logs containing credentials harvested through infostealer malware. The forum was accessible over the clearnet in English and had been active since 2021. It explicitly prohibited trading Russian databases to avoid scrutiny.

Mitigation steps:

Law enforcement has seized the LeakBase forum and preserved all content including user accounts, posts, credit details, private messages, and IP logs for evidentiary purposes. Organizations should monitor for potential credential compromise and implement account takeover protection measures as stolen credentials from this forum may be used for fraudulent activities.

Affected products:

Related CVE's:

Related threat actors:

IOC's:

leakbase.la

This article was created with the assistance of AI technology by Perceptive.