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FBI seizes Cracked.io, Nulled.to hacking forums in Operation Talent. Update January 29, 14:15 EST: Seizure banners were added to the cracked[.] io, nulled [.] to, starkrdp [.] io, mysellix [.] io, and sellix [.] io, confirming that the domains had been seized in a joint law enforcement action dubbed "Operation Talent" that included authorities from the United States, Italy, Spain, Europe, France, Greece, Australia, and Romania. "This website, as well as the information on the customers and victims of the website, has been seized by international law enforcement partners," the banners read.  The FBI has seized the domains for the infamous Cracked.io and Nulled.to hacking forums, which are known for their focus on cybercrime, password theft, cracking, and credential stuffing attacks. While some of their members also engaged in ethical hacking discussions, the sites were widely regarded as a hub for cybercriminal activity. They also hosted content related to software cracks, hacking tools like "configs" used by credential stuffing attack tools (e.g., OpenBullet and SilverBullet), and other illicit activities, including a "combo lists" marketplace with stolen credentials or databases. When trying to open the sites, web browsers display "Error 1000. DNS points to prohibited IP" and Error 1016. Origin DNS error" messages. Today, the FBI seized the forums' domains and changed their name servers to ns1.fbi.seized.gov and ns2.fbi.seized.gov from their previous Cloudflare name servers. Cracked.io's staff published an announcement on their Telegram channel earlier today, blaming a data center issue for the ongoing access problems. "There is an active issue in our data centre which the staff is working on. Hence services remain offline till the issue is resolved. We will get detailed report later," they said. "We can only hope it is resolved without further issue. No estimated time at this moment. The current status from data centre is that it may take up to 1 day." Today, the FBI also seized domains used by: An FBI spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by BleepingComputer earlier today. While the law enforcement agency has yet to share more information about this wave of seizures, all signs point to a crackdown on platforms involved in credential stuffing and stolen account credentials.

Daily Brief Summary

CYBERCRIME // FBI Seizes Major Hacking Forums in Global Operation Talent

The FBI conducted a significant crackdown named "Operation Talent," targeting the notorious hacking forums such as Cracked.io and Nulled.to.

International law enforcement from the US, Italy, Spain, Europe, France, Greece, Australia, and Romania collaborated in the seizure.

Seizure banners were displayed on multiple domains, indicating the capture by international law enforcement and the confiscation of related customer and victim information.

The seized forums were known for facilitating cybercrimes, including password theft, credential stuffing, and distributing hacking tools and software cracks.

Users attempting to access these sites encountered DNS errors, with domain name servers being switched to FBI-controlled servers.

Cracked.io responded to the seizure by initially attributing the downtime to a data center problem, later confirmed as part of the FBI's operation.

The operation highlights a focused effort by global authorities to tackle platforms involved in large-scale credential theft and cybercriminal activities.