RaidForums
 | |
 Domain seizure notice on raidforums.com | |
Type of site | Internet forum |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Dissolved | April 12, 2022 |
| Successor(s) | BreachForums |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Founder(s) | Diogo Santos Coelho, also known by his screen name "Omnipotent" |
| URL | rf |
| Advertising | Yes |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | 530,000 at time of shutdown |
| Launched | 2015 |
| Current status | Seized by the United States FBI |
RaidForums was an English-language black hat hacking internet forum founded in 2015. The website facilitated the discussion of a variety of hacking topics and was a notable distributor of various data breaches, hacking tools, and pornography until its closure and seizure by law enforcement authorities in 2022.[1] The website was monetized via advertisements and through a tiered membership program where members with higher tiers would receive elevated access to the forum and its contents.[2][3]
History
[edit]RaidForums began in 2015 as a platform for Twitch raiders.[4]
Domain seizure
[edit]The domain and its contents were seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on April 12, 2022 after a month of downtime, in collaboration with the United States Secret Service, the United States Department of Justice, and a variety of other national and international law enforcement agencies.[1]
Administration
[edit]The website was allegedly founded by a 21-year old Portuguese national, Diogo Santos Coelho under the screen name "Omnipotent", who was arrested on January 31, 2022 in the United Kingdom.[5] His arrest occurred pending several years of investigation after several of his devices were searched under warrant at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in June 2018, suggesting he was the owner and primary administrator "Omnipotent". According to hackread.com, an administrator under screen name "Jaw" & "souls" announced the seizure officially on the forum's public Telegram channel, and redirected subscribers of the channel to RaidForums' backup domain rf.to,[2] which however went offline (and has remained offline for months) after this statement, only becoming reachable again after Diogo Santos Coelho's release on bail[6][7] in August 2022.
Impact
[edit]At the time of its closure in 2022, the forum had over 530,000 registered users and was one of the most prolific and easily accessible clearnet illicit hacking forums.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Krebs, Brian (April 12, 2022). "RaidForums Gets Raided, Alleged Admin Arrested". Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Hacking forum Raidforums.com allegedly seized by authorities". February 25, 2022. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ Lyngaas, Sean (April 12, 2022). "FBI and international partners seize control of popular hacking forum". CNN. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ "What It's Like to Run a Hacking Forum: A Conversation With RaidForums Owner Omnipotent". The Record by Recorded Future. January 13, 2021. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "United States of America v. Diogo Santos Coelho". justice.gov. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "RaidForums admin "Omni" granted conditional bail while U.K. considers U.S. extradition request". October 21, 2022. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ "RaidForums". Internet Archive Wayback Machine. October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
External links
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