FBI gains access to BreachForums database, finds clinching evidence to nail the site's owner

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that it has gained access to the infamous BreachForums hacking forum and arrested its owner.

Earlier this month, the FBI arrested an individual suspected to be Pompompurin, the owner of BreachForums. According to court documents, FBI Special Agent John Longmire led an investigation that resulted in the arrest of a New York man named Connor Brian Fitzpatrick who admitted to being the owner of the cybercriminal forum.

“When I arrested the defendant on March 15, 2023, he stated to me in substance and in part that: a) his name was Conor Brian FitzPatrick; b) he used the alias “Pompompurin,” and c) he was the owner and administrator of "BreachForums," the data breach website referenced in the Complaint,” Longmire said.

Fitzpatrick has also surrendered all his documents and is presently barred from contacting witnesses, co-defendants, or co-conspirators.

Following Fitzpatrick’s arrest, a hacker going by the name “Baphomet” said that the dark web forum will be shutting down permanently as the threat actor suspects that law enforcement agencies used pompompurin’s account to access the backend of the platform and were able to get their hands on the site’s source code and user details.

“This will be my final update on Breached, as I’ve decided to shut it down. I’m aware this news will not please anyone, but it’s the only safe decision now that I’ve confirmed that the glowies likely have access to Poms machine.

“Any servers we use are never shared with anyone else, so someone would have to know the credentials to that server to be able to login. I now feel like I’m put into a position where nothing can be assumed safe, whether its our configs, source code, or information about our users the list is endless. This means that I can’t confirm the forum is safe, which has been a major goal from the start of this shitshow,” Baphomet said.

FBI Special Agent Longmire now says that the FBI has gained access to the BreachForums database and that FitzPatrick is indeed Pompompurin, the main administrator of the forum.

“While the FBI’s examination of the BreachForums database reveals that the pompompurin account was typically accessed through VPN services or Tor, I believe it is notable that IP address 69.115.201.194 was once used to login to the pompompurin account on or about June 27, 2022.

“Further, records received from Apple Inc. concerning an iCloud account associated with FITZPATRICK reveals that the account was accessed approximately 97 times from IP address 69.115.201.194 between on or about May 19, 2022 and on or about June 2, 2022, from an iPhone mobile device,” Longmire said.

Longmire also said that FitzPatrick, in front of law enforcement, confirmed that he was the operator of the BreachForums Pompompurin account.

“He also admitted that he owns and administers BreachForums and previously operated the "pompompurin" account on RaidForums. He estimated that he earned approximately $1,000 a day from BreachForums, and that he uses this money to administer BreachForums and purchase other domains,” Longmire added.