In a significant blow to the cybercrime ecosystem, law enforcement agencies from seven countries have successfully dismantled two of the largest cybercrime forums – Cracked and Nulled – through Operation Talent. This coordinated effort involved agencies from the United States, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Australia, and Romania, resulting in arrests and the seizure of critical infrastructure.
Unprecedented Scale of Cybercrime Marketplace Disruption
The operation targeted massive underground forums with a combined user base exceeding 9 million registered accounts. Cracked maintained approximately 4 million users and hosted 28 million listings for malicious tools, while Nulled boasted over 5 million users and 43 million posts. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, these platforms generated an estimated annual revenue of $5 million for their administrators.
Technical Infrastructure Dismantlement and Associated Services
Law enforcement’s comprehensive approach extended beyond the forums themselves, targeting the entire criminal infrastructure. The operation resulted in the seizure of 17 servers and 12 domain names, with the FBI implementing DNS redirects to confirm full control over the network. Associated services, including payment processors MySellIX and SellIX, and hosting provider StarkRDP, were also terminated.
Criminal Proceedings and Asset Seizures
The investigation culminated in January 2025 with coordinated raids across seven properties, yielding over 50 electronic devices and approximately €300,000 in cash and cryptocurrency assets. A significant breakthrough came with the arrest of 28-year-old Lucas Son, Nulled’s administrator, in Spain. The suspect faces up to 30 years imprisonment for various cybercrime offenses.
Impact Assessment and Future Implications
Europol’s analysis reveals these platforms served as comprehensive marketplaces for cybercriminals, facilitating the trade of stolen data, malware, and hacking tools. The operation’s impact is particularly significant in the United States, where over 17 million individuals were reportedly victimized through these platforms. Law enforcement now possesses data on approximately 10 million forum users, enabling continued investigations into cybercriminal activities.
The successful takedown of Cracked and Nulled represents a watershed moment in the fight against cybercrime. The wealth of intelligence gathered during Operation Talent provides law enforcement agencies with unprecedented insights into criminal networks, potentially leading to further arrests and disruptions in the cybercrime ecosystem. This operation demonstrates the effectiveness of international cooperation in combating cyber threats and sets a new standard for future enforcement actions against digital criminal enterprises.
