The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has recently joined a global law enforcement operation that dismantled LeakBase, an online forum used by cybercriminals to buy and sell stolen data.
Authorities confirmed that servers linked to the platform were hosted in Kuala Lumpur and were seized as part of the coordinated enforcement action.
The operation was led by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) together with international law enforcement partners to disrupt one of the world’s largest hacker forums used to distribute stolen data. It was reported that law enforcement agencies from 14 countries including Malaysia had carried out synchronised actions against LeakBase and its users on 3rd and 4th March.
According to the US DOJ, LeakBase operated as an online marketplace where cybercriminals could access and share breached databases, login credentials and other sensitive information obtained from cyberattacks.
These illegally obtained data contain credit and debit card numbers, bank account numbers, routing information, usernames and passwords, which can be used to takeover accounts, as well as sensitive business and personally identifiable information.
The platform allegedly had more than 142,000 registered members and over 215,000 of user messages with archives of compromised databases including large volumes of stolen account credentials.
MACC confirmed that its Special Operations Division executed a search warrant at a web hosting company in Kuala Lumpur after investigators discovered that servers linked to LeakBase were hosted in Malaysia.
Authorities seized the servers and related digital evidence during the operation as part of the international effort to dismantle the cybercrime forum. The enforcement action was carried out in cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation.
The seized infrastructure forms part of a wider international crackdown in which authorities shut down the LeakBase forum and secured its data and domains..
The shutdown of LeakBase follows other recent cybercrime marketplace seizures such as Rydox, RaidForums and BreachForums.
