US law enforcement agencies have arrested a New York man in connection with the management of a notorious organization BreachForums: hacker forum online under alias »Pompompuri“.
The development, first reported by Bloomberg Law, comes after News 12 Westchester said earlier this week that federal investigators “spent hours inside and outside the Peekskill home.”
“At one point, investigators removed several bags of evidence from the home,” the New York local news service added.
According to an affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the suspect identified himself as Connor Brian Fitzpatrick and that he admitted to being the owner of the BreachForums website.
“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; BreachForums administrator,” said FBI Special Agent John Longmire.
Fitzpatrick was charged with one count of conspiracy to solicit individuals for the purpose of selling unauthorized access devices.
The defendant was released a day later on a $300,000 bond co-signed by his parents and is scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on March 24, 2023.
In addition to being barred from obtaining a passport or other international travel document, Fitzpatrick is prohibited from contacting associates and from using drugs or other controlled substances unless prescribed by a licensed physician.
BreachForums emerged last year three weeks after a coordinated law enforcement operation took control of RaidForums in March 2022.
“In the threat actor’s welcome thread, pompompurin stated that they created BreachForums as an alternative to RaidForums, but that it was ‘not affiliated with RaidForums in any capacity,'” cybersecurity firm Flashpoint said at the time.
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Since then, the forum has become known for hosting stolen databases belonging to several companies, often containing sensitive personal information.
After Fitzpatrick’s arrest, another forum user named Baphomet said they were taking the website into their own hands, stating that there was no evidence of access or modification to the “compromised infra”.
“My only answer [law enforcement]or any media is that I have no concerns for myself at this time,” Baphomet said in a statement. “OPSEC has been a focus of mine since day one, and fortunately, I don’t think any mountain lions are going to attack me. a small fishing boat.”
The development comes as Ukraine’s cyber police announced the arrest of a 25-year-old developer who created a remote access trojan that infected more than 10,000 computers under the guise of gaming applications.