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FBI and Europol seize LeakBase forum

Law Enforcement
First reported
Last updated
Happening score
H score 35
2 unique sources, 3 articles

Summary

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On March 3-4, 2026, the FBI and international partners seized the LeakBase cybercrime forum, disrupting a major marketplace for hacking tools and stolen data. The action was coordinated by Europol under Operation Leak and involved enforcement across 14 countries. Authorities also preserved forum content for evidentiary purposes, raising the investigative value of the takedown.

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Timeline

  1. 04.03.2026 19:44 1 articles · 4mo ago

    Operation Leak coordinated enforcement actions across multiple jurisdictions

    Legal Policy Action Update

    Law enforcement authorities executed coordinated enforcement actions against LeakBase across multiple jurisdictions, including arrests, house searches, and knock-and-talk interventions, with around 100 enforcement actions worldwide and measures against 37 of the most active users.

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  2. 04.03.2026 19:44 2 articles · 4mo ago

    LeakBase domain seizure and law-enforcement splash page

    Legal Policy Action Update

    Authorities moved to technical disruption against LeakBase by seizing the forum's domain, replacing it with a law-enforcement splash page, switching nameservers to ns1.fbi.seized.gov and ns2.fbi.seized.gov, and securing the forum's database, IP logs, private messages, user accounts, posts, and credit details for evidentiary purposes.

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  3. 04.03.2026 19:44 2 articles · 4mo ago

    FBI and Europol disclose the LeakBase seizure and evidence preservation

    Initial Disclosure

    The FBI disclosed the seizure of LeakBase as part of Europol-coordinated Operation Leak involving law enforcement agencies in 14 countries, and the forum notice stated that the database, IP logs, private messages, user accounts, posts, and credit details were secured and preserved for evidentiary purposes.

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