Europol and German law enforcement dismantle Cracked and Nulled hacking forums with over 10 million users. Arrest two suspects and seize 17 servers in major cybercrime bust.

German authorities, supported by Europol and agencies from eight countries, have dismantled two of the world’s largest cybercrime forums, Cracked and Nulled, in a coordinated action dubbed Operation Talent. The forums together hosted more than 10 million users and served as major hubs for trading stolen data, malware, hacking tools, and broader “cybercrime‑as‑a‑service,” lowering the barrier to entry for online criminal activity. The operation took place between 28 and 30 January 2025, led by Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) with participation from law enforcement in the United States, Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, and Spain, and operational, analytic, and forensic support from Europol. Authorities arrested two suspects, searched seven properties, and seized 17 servers, more than 50 electronic devices, and about €300,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies. Twelve domains linked to Cracked and Nulled were taken over, and associated infrastructure, including the payment processor Sellix and hosting service StarkRDP, was also disrupted. According to Europol and related releases, the suspects are estimated to have earned around €1 million in criminal profits, while U.S. Department of Justice figures indicate that Cracked alone generated roughly $4 million in revenue and contributed to harm involving at least 17 million U.S. victims. This takedown is significant because Cracked (operational since 2018) and Nulled (since around 2016) functioned as large‑scale underground economies, offering stolen credentials, identification documents, malware, and automated attack tools—including AI‑assisted scripts—to a global user base. By seizing their infrastructure and associated financial and hosting services, law enforcement aims to disrupt not just individual actors but a broader cybercrime ecosystem built around marketplaces and forums that make complex attacks accessible to less technically skilled offenders. Domains now display seizure notices from agencies including the FBI, signalling both a direct blow to existing criminal operations and a deterrent message to users and operators of similar platforms. "entities":["Europol","Bundeskriminalamt (BKA)","Cracked","Cracked.io","Nulled","Nulled.io","Operation Talent","Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)","U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)","Sellix","StarkRDP","German law enforcement","Romanian law enforcement","Australian law enforcement","French law enforcement","Greek law enforcement","Italian law enforcement","Spanish law enforcement","Lucas Sohn"]}'} } }'} } } However, this seems malformed. Let's correct it.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

More coverage

• Global Law Enforcement Shuts Down Two of the Largest ... (secureworld.io)
• US, Partners Take Down Cracked/Nulled Cybercrime Forums (meritalk.com)
• German police disrupt Cracked, Nulled cybercrime forums (techtarget.com)
• Cracked and Nulled: International Law Enforcement Takes Down ... (securityandtechnology.org)
• Cybercrime Forums “Cracked” and “Nulled” Taken Down - eucrim (eucrim.eu)

Explore the topic

• Hacking