A major international law enforcement operation has successfully shut down LeakBase, a massive online marketplace used by cybercriminals to trade stolen data and hacking tools. During the crackdown, authorities seized the forum's infrastructure and preserved all internal user data, including private messages and IP logs, to support ongoing criminal investigations.
In early March 2026, a coordinated global effort known as Operation Leak resulted in the dismantling of LeakBase, a prominent cybercrime forum that had been active since 2021. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that the platform hosted over 142,000 members and facilitated the exchange of hundreds of millions of stolen credentials and financial records. Visitors to the site are now met with an official seizure banner indicating that the FBI and international partners have taken control of the domain and its underlying data.
The forum operated openly on the clearnet and served as a primary hub for the sale of hacked databases and stealer logs containing sensitive banking information and account access details. To avoid certain types of heat, the platform's administrators had previously banned the distribution of Russian databases. Despite these precautions, law enforcement tracked the site’s activities and its high-profile administrators, including the primary figure known by the alias Chucky.
The takedown involved a massive logistics chain spanning multiple countries, including the United States, Australia, and several European nations. Police executed search warrants and conducted interviews across these regions on March 3 and 4 to disrupt the network's leadership. Europol confirmed that the operation was specifically targeted at the sale of information harvested via malware, which criminals use to perform fraudulent transactions and unauthorized account takeovers.
Beyond seizing the website itself, the investigation resulted in approximately 100 enforcement actions worldwide. This included specific measures taken against 37 of the platform's most active and influential users. By securing the forum’s complete history of posts and IP logs, investigators now have a roadmap to identify further individuals involved in the trafficking of stolen data.
Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI's Cyber Division emphasized that this seizure is a significant blow to the underground economy. By capturing the private communications and credit details of the forum's massive user base, law enforcement has turned a once-secure criminal haven into a repository of evidence. This operation marks a continued shift toward aggressive, multi-jurisdictional strikes against the infrastructure that enables global cyber intrusions.
Source: FBI and Europol Shut Down LeakBase Forum Used for Trading Stolen Credentials