A month after the breach of WeLeakData, the forum’s contents including private messages are now for sale on the dark web.
Prior to its closure about a month ago, WeLeakData is a prominent forum for hackers. The forum is known to be the den of hackers, and other elements of cybercriminals.
In January, the website temporarily went offline. Following this, many members of the forum claim that the website was taken down by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
A couple of months after the surprise shut down, one member of the forum made an explosive statement. The unknown member claims that the forum was taken down by a massive coordinated cyberattack. The cyberattack is so massive that it led to the eventual closure of the forum in April.
No honor amongst thieves
Security researchers refer to WeLeakData as one of the well-managed forums for cybercriminals. The website delve in various illegal activities like trading stolen user information, credit card fraud, and leaked databases.
Popular #darkweb #cybercrime forum WeLeakData taken down by rival #hackers
????rumors that the owner/admin was arrested by Europol though this is unconfirmed
????forum contains the PII, #privacy data, and other stolen info#cybersecurity #infosec #malware https://t.co/mtNBo8jEk4— Z3R0???? (@CryptoWeb9) May 14, 2020
Because of this, many security researchers applaud the take down of the forum April. It would appear that some of WeLeakData’s patrons are the ones responsible for its own demise.
There is no clear evidence as to who are responsible for the takedown of WeLeakData. However, some in the cybersecurity industry are pointing their finger towards one of the forum’s closest rival. In this case, this is RaidForums which has the same operation as WeLeakData.
It is a little bit ironic that the forum known for cybercriminal activities was taken down that way. The breach, and subsequent leak of internal data, simply shows that trust among criminals is rare to say the least.
Massive data dump
A month after the closure, WeLeakData forum contents are now for sale on the dark web. Among the contents for sale are private messages between users. The hack compromise the whole forum database according to reports.
Cyble researchers say:
“Cyble researchers have verified the alias of WeLeakData owner is unresponsive and unreachable, however, the arrest claim is unverified at the time of writing this.”
Aside from private messages, the dark web sale also includes usernames and passwords. There are reports claiming that chat data within the forum are also up for grabs.
The WeLeakData breach is a testament that all crime does pay at the end. It is only a little bit ironic that the same tactic that the forum peddle for many years is the one that got them as well.
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