Federal brokers of U.S. legislation enforcement arrested on Wednesday have arrested Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, a Peekskill, New York resident, who allegedly operated the notorious darkish internet knowledge breach web site, “BreachForums.” The web site, which hosted stolen databases from just about 1,000 corporations and internet sites, has been a vital participant within the cybercrime ecosystem.
Fitzpatrick, who went through the web alias “Pompompurin,” was once charged with a unmarried depend of conspiracy to dedicate get entry to instrument fraud. BreachForums presented stolen private data, together with names, emails, and passwords, on the market to customers.
Those databases have been incessantly used for fraudulent actions. Fitzpatrick’s arrest happened at his house, the place he admitted to the use of the alias “Pompompurin” and running BreachForums.
In a testimony filed with the District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York, FBI Particular Agent John Langmire stated that at round 4:30 p.m. on March 15, 2023, he led a crew of legislation enforcement brokers that made a likely motive arrest of a Conor Brian Fitzpatrick in Peekskill, NY.
“After I arrested the defendant on March 15, 2023, he said to me in substance and partially that:
a) his identify was once Conor Brian Fitzpatrick; b) he used the alias ‘pompompurin/’ and c) he was once the landlord and administrator of ‘BreachForums the information breach site referenced within the Grievance,” Langmire wrote.
BreachForums was once established after the shutdown of RaidForums, any other hacker discussion board seized through the FBI in April 2022.
In line with Allan Liska, a senior intelligence analyst at cybersecurity company Recorded Long run, BreachForums is “one among, if now not probably the most lively, hacker boards available in the market.” The platform has been accountable for leaking delicate data stolen from main organizations, together with Robinhood and Acer Computer systems.
Fitzpatrick has been beneath shut scrutiny through cybersecurity investigators for greater than a yr. In November 2021, he claimed duty for sending pretend emails from a “fbi.gov” e mail cope with. He was once additionally keen on high-profile corporate breaches, akin to stealing buyer knowledge from Robinhood and the use of a malicious program to verify the e-mail addresses of five.4 million Twitter customers.
Fitzpatrick was once launched on a $300,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled to look in court docket in Alexandria on March 24.
Within the interim, any other discussion board administrator, who is going through the alias Baphomet, said that the web site would proceed to function in its present capability, with complete get entry to to the web site’s infrastructure. He claimed duty for taking up the discussion board to stay it working and give protection to it from being seized through government.
The arrest of Fitzpatrick and the continued operation of BreachForums spotlight the rising issues round cybercrime and the will for tough cybersecurity measures. As cybercriminals proceed to seek out new tactics to milk vulnerabilities and thieve delicate data, organizations will have to prioritize safety to offer protection to their knowledge and consumers.
