A joint law enforcement operation, codenamed "Operation Talent," has dismantled Cracked and Nulled, two of the largest cybercrime forums in the world.

The operation, which was led by German authorities and supported by Europol, involved coordinated law enforcement efforts from the United States, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Romania, Australia, and other European nations.

The forums, which boasted over 10 million users combined, served as hubs for illegal activity, from discussions about cybercrime to the sale of stolen data, malware, and hacking tools.

Between January 28 and 30, 2025, in a series of raids, law enforcement seized servers, electronic devices, and a significant amount of cash and cryptocurrency. The operation resulted in the arrest of two suspects and the search of seven properties linked to the forums’ operations.

The seized assets included 17 servers and over 50 electronic devices, cash and cryptocurrencies totaling around EUR 300,000, 12 domains associated with Cracked and Nulled, which were taken offline during the operation.

Cracked and Nulled acted as one-stop shops for various illicit activities, with users purchasing stolen data, illegal malware, and even hiring services to carry out cyberattacks. The authorities estimate that the criminal groups running these platforms earned approximately EUR 1 million from their illegal activities.

In addition to the forums, other hacker forums were also taken down, including Sellix, a financial processor used by Cracked, and StarkRDP, a hosting service that was heavily promoted on both forums. Sellix and StarkRDP were essential parts of the operation, allowing users to conduct transactions and host malicious tools.

The FBI seized the domains of both forums, redirecting them to government-controlled servers, with the new name servers being ns1.fbi.seized.gov and ns2.fbi.seized.gov.