Lesson plan
BreachForums
BreachForums, sometimes referred to as Breached, was an English-language black-hat hacking crime forum. The website acted as an alternative and successor to RaidForums following its shutdown and seizure in 2022. Like its predecessor, BreachForums allowed discussions concerning hacking and facilitated the distribution of data obtained through data breaches, hacking tools and various other services. On March 21, 2023, BreachForums was shut down following the arrest of its owner, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick. The forum was later reopened under the administration of the hacking group ShinyHunters and former BreachForums administrator "Baphomet". Fitzpatrick was initially sentenced to time served followed by 20 years of supervised release. The site was again shut down and its domains seized on May 15, 2024, before returning online later that month. BreachForums, along with other cybercrime forums, used DDoS-Guard for web-hosting services. DDoS-Guard has been criticized for hosting websites associated with illicit activities and for its alleged lack of action in response to abuse reports.
Article summary
BreachForums, sometimes referred to as Breached, was an English-language black-hat hacking crime forum. The website acted as an alternative and successor to RaidForums following its shutdown and seizure in 2022. Like its predecessor, BreachForums allowed discussions concerning hacking and facilitated the distribution of data obtained through data breaches, hacking tools and various other services. On March 21, 2023, BreachForums was shut down following the arrest of its owner, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick. The forum was later reopened under the administration of the hacking group ShinyHunters and former BreachForums administrator "Baphomet". Fitzpatrick was initially sentenced to time served followed by 20 years of supervised release. The site was again shut down and its domains seized on May 15, 2024, before returning online later that month. BreachForums, along with other cybercrime forums, used DDoS-Guard for web-hosting services. DDoS-Guard has been criticized for hosting websites associated with illicit activities and for its alleged lack of action in response to abuse reports.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.