The FBI, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies from several countries, has shut down the major hacker forums Cracked and Nulled as part of a coordinated operation named "Talent." Visitors to these sites now see a message indicating that the domains have been seized. According to Bleeping Computer, authorities from the United States, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Australia, and Romania, as well as Europol, took part in the crackdown.
The Cracked administration acknowledged issues via their associated Telegram channel, stating that they are still waiting for "official legal documentation from the data center and domain host." The site's operators assured users they would provide further updates once they received more information.
In addition to taking down the forums, the FBI also seized the domains of three platforms allegedly linked to cybercriminal activities. These included MySellIX and SellIX, both of which enabled users to create online storefronts. Criminals reportedly exploited these platforms to sell stolen data and compromised accounts. Another targeted entity was StarkRDP, a virtual hosting provider suspected of facilitating credential-stuffing attacks through Windows RDP services.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Cracked had been operational since 2018, amassing a user base of at least four million members, who collectively posted over 28 million messages. Authorities estimate that the forum caused approximately $4 million in financial damage.
As for Nulled, U.S. officials have formally charged 29-year-old Lucas Son, an Argentine citizen living in Spain, who is identified as one of the forum's administrators. Since its inception in 2016, Nulled had accumulated over 43 million posts and reportedly generated an annual revenue of $1 million.
It is believed that Son may be one of two individuals arrested in Spain during the operation. Europol has reported that 17 servers were seized across the EU, along with €300,000 in cash.
