On Wednesday, US federal officials arrested the alleged operator behind the data thief forum Breachforums, known as “Pompompurin”. He has been charged in one case for conspiracy to device access fraud. The forum hosted duplicate databases from around 1,000 companies and websites, according to Bloomberg. These databases often contained sensitive data such as names, email addresses and passwords. Cybercriminals then offer these databases for sale to be used for fraud.
The arrestee admitted to being Pompompurin and owning and operating the Breachforums platform. He has since been released on bail after paying $300,000, provided by his parents. However, neither he nor his lawyer have commented on the allegations. The suspect has been under investigation by cybersecurity officials for over a year and is considered a significant player in the cybercrime ecosystem, according to sources.
Breachforums is the successor to the Raidforum, which was shut down a year ago in a concerted action by Europol. The operators were charged by the FBI, servers were confiscated and internet domains were seized. Despite this, Breachforums is still accessible.
The defendant is scheduled to appear in court in Alexandria on March 24. However, details of the charges filed have not yet been released. As part of his bail conditions, he must refrain from contacting co-defendants, co-conspirators and witnesses in the case.
