Operation Talent Leads to Arrests and Seizure of Cracked and Nulled Cybercrime Forums

An international law enforcement operation, named Operation Talent, has successfully dismantled major cybercrime forums Cracked and Nulled. These platforms, which collectively had over 10 million users, served as marketplaces for illegal goods and services, including stolen data, malware, and hacking tools. Cracked and Nulled were known for facilitating cybercriminal activities, hosting tools like AI-based scripts to scan for vulnerabilities and optimize attacks. The forums generated significant revenue, with Cracked making approximately $4 million and impacting 17 million victims in the U.S., while Nulled generated around $1 million annually from over 43 million posts advertising cybercrime tools. During the operation, law enforcement seized twelve (12) domains, seventeen (17) servers, and over fifty (50) electronic devices, along with approximately €300,000 in cash and cryptocurrency. Two (2) suspects were arrested in Valencia, Spain, and charges were unsealed against Lucas Sohn, an Argentinian national and administrator for Nulled, for his involvement in trafficking stolen passwords and identity theft. The crackdown also led to the shutdown of Sellix, a financial processor used by Cracked, and StarkRDP, a hosting service promoted on both forums. The seized data, including email and IP addresses of the 10 million registered users, will be used for further international investigations against criminal sellers and users of these platforms. The FBI changed the domains’ name servers to indicate the seizure, and Cracked’s staff confirmed the domain’s seizure on Telegram, expressing their dismay. This operation follows recent law enforcement actions against other cybercrime operations, such as the takedown of PopeyeTools market and the disruption of MATRIX, an encrypted chat service used by criminals.