Four people were arrested Monday, June 23 in France, suspected of being the main administrators of the Cybercriminel Forum Breachforumsa platform worldwide known for the resale of stolen computer data and access to information systems. Presented under the collective name of Shinyhutersthese individuals are also suspected of having committed “cyber attacks of a very high degree of technical complexity” in the prejudice of many victims, in France and abroad.
The operation, led by the Cybercrime (BL2C) In the Hauts-de-Seine, in Seine-Maritime and Reunion, intervenes as part of a judicial information led by an investigating judge. It follows a preliminary investigation opened in August 2024 by the Paris prosecutor’s office, based on suspicions about the involvement of French nationals in the administration of the site.
A major cybercrime platform on the Clearweb
Breachforums.st is described in the publication of the prosecution as a “large global cybercriminal market place”, accessible on the clearwebwith several hundreds of thousands of users and a Strong visibility in the cybersecurity industry. This English -speaking forum was mainly used at the resale of stolen data and fraudulent access to information systems. It was notably used to disseminate personal data from large -scale cyber attacks against French targets.
A transatlantic collaboration at the heart of the dismantling
The suspects were identified thanks to a International police and judicial cooperationespecially with UNITED STATES. The Paris prosecutor Laure Becuau Salt in the press release “the high quality of exchanges” with American partners, stressing “a high degree of mutual trust”. She adds: “I particularly thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DoJ), whose representatives I have personally received”.
A British national operating under the pseudonym Intelbroker had already been arrested in February 2025 in France. Suspected of having been a temporary administrator of the forum, he was indicted For online platform administration allowing illegal transactions in organized gang And Automated processing system of organized band dataThen placed in pre -trial detention.
A now weakened resilient platform
Breachforums had already been targeted by two American judicial operations In 2023 and 2024, without preventing its rapid online. This week’s arrests represent a new turning point. According to Laure Beccuau, they “allow you to hope for its lasting closure”. IT elements entered “will be exploited and are likely to significantly advance many current surveys”.
