- FBI seizes domains of RAMP cybercrime forum on Clearnet and Tor
- The operator confirmed the loss of the forum, calling it the destruction of years of work
- Capture of potentially exposed user data, risking identification and prosecution of cybercriminals
The infamous underground hacking forum RAMP, used to promote different malware and hacking services, including ransomware, has been seized by the FBI.
One of the organization’s operators confirmed the news on another forum, saying the law enforcement operation had destroyed years of hard work. It operated two domains, one on Clearnet and one on the Tor network, both of which were seized.
The clearnet version has been defaced and now displays the usual FBI banner: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation has seized RAMP.”
The FBI remains silent
“This action was taken in coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section,” the banner said.
At press time, the Clearnet website was not accessible at all and was returning an error instead.
On XSS, a separate hacking forum, a user alias “Stallman”, who claims to have been one of the operators of RAMP, confirmed that access to the forum had been lost:
“I regret to inform you that law enforcement has taken over the Ramp forum,” they said. “This event destroyed years of my work building the freest forum in the world, and while I hoped this day would never come, I always knew in my heart that it was possible. It’s a risk we all take.”
As of press time, there has been no official confirmation from the FBI, but the domain name servers have been replaced with those used by the FBI in such cases, BeepComputer found further. This means that police most likely have access to a trove of RAMP user data, including email addresses, IP addresses, private messages, and more.
Cybercriminals who were not careful and did not take precautions to hide their identity on the platform could now be identified and even prosecuted.
RAMP was launched in 2021, when other hacking forums, XSS and Exploit, banned the hosting and promotion of ransomware.
Via BeepComputer
The best antivirus for every budget
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
