Four young French men were arrested by specialist officers from the Cybercrime Brigade (BL2C) of the Paris police headquarters, French media reported. The suspects, aged between 20 and 23, are believed to be the latest administrators behind BreachForums, a notorious online marketplace for reselling hacked data.
According to police sources, the suspects operated under aliases including “IntelBroker,” “ShinyHunters,” “Hollow,” “Noct,” and “Depressed.” Only one of the four men was previously known to law enforcement and was registered in the Criminal Records Processing Service (TAJ) for possession of a category B firearm.
BreachForums, once the largest hub for trading leaked personal and corporate data, has been a persistent target of international law enforcement since its inception in March 2022. The platform was known for hosting and distributing massive troves of stolen information from public institutions and private corporations.
The forum’s demise began in March 2023 with the arrest of its then-leader, American citizen Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, known online as “Pompompurin.” The FBI's operation led to a temporary shutdown, followed by a string of unstable leadership changes. After the platform’s infrastructure was dismantled again in April 2023 and May 2024, a group of French administrators quietly revived it.
However, the platform never fully recovered, with combination of hacktivist sabotage, internal discord, and relentless pressure from law enforcement contributing to its eventual collapse. In January 2025, “IntelBroker,” who had risen to leadership after the 2024 arrest of another key administrator known as “Baphomet,” resigned citing offline obligations, though French media later reported that he had been arrested by BL2C on February 22.
Despite public claims by its administrators that the forum had ceased activity on April 14, 2025, authorities say the group continued coordinating attacks on major corporations behind the scenes.
Victims of the alleged cybercrimes include major French institutions and companies such as the Ministry of National Education, telecom giant SFR, the French Football Federation (FFF), Boulanger, Accor, France Travail, Capgemini, and luxury conglomerate LVMH.
Following the raids in Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Maritime, and Réunion, “ShinyHunters,” “Hollow,” “Noct,” and “Depressed” were arrested. They are accused of targeting victims of high-profile data leaks, including Boulanger, SFR, France Travail, and the French Football Federation.