Amateur hackers are alarmed with the apparent demise of LeakedSource, a controversial breach notification site that\u2019s been accused of doing more harm than good.
U. S. law enforcement has allegedly confiscated its servers, and now some hackers are wondering if customers of LeakedSource might be next.
\u201cAll the people who used PayPal, credit card, etc. to buy membership, the FBI now have your email, payment details and lookup history,\u201d wrote one user on HackForums.net.
LeakedSource had functioned as a giant repository with more than 3 billion internet accounts — all of which had been compiled from stolen databases, taken from the likes of LinkedIn, MySpace, and Dropbox. For as little as US$2 a day, anyone could use the site to look up password and other login information.
That made it particularly popular with users on HackForums.net, a site filled with discussion on hacking techniques often by amateurs known as \u201cscript kiddies.\u201d
But whether the FBI really shut down LeakedSource is still unclear. The site itself has been offline and its operators have been mum on Twitter and through email.
In addition, the U. S. Department of Justice has declined to comment.
Nevertheless, experts in data breach notification said the situation with LeakedSource was inevitable.
\u201cThey weren\u2019t handling the data ethically or responsibly,\u201d said a data collector who goes by the name Keen. He runs a separate notification site at Vigilante.pw that tries to warn the public about the latest data breaches.
But unlike LeakedSource, he doesn\u2019t make the data searchable or post any sensitive user information. Nor does he buy stolen records obtained by hackers.
The same can\u2019t be said of LeakedSource, he claimed.
\u201cThey would always say things like \u2018the data is publicly available,\u2019\u201d Keen said. \u201cBut most of the data was not publicly available. They were straight up buying it from hackers.\u201d
He suspects this was the case with the December data breach at E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA) that involved a hacker seeking a $100,000 ransom. LeakedSource managed to receive the stolen database, which Keen found odd.
\u201cThey posted … on Twitter that ESEA\u2019s database got leaked online,\u201d Keen said. \u201cThat\u2019s not true, because nobody had it, apart from them and the hacker.\u201d
Troy Hunt, an Australian software architect who runs a separate breach monitoring service, also approved of LeakedSource\u2019s apparent shutdown.
In a Friday blog post , he wrote that LeakedSource even had searchable information on his internet accounts.
\u201cI see a lot of data breaches in my travels but I was still shocked to see my own personal information sold in this way,\u201d he wrote. \u201cMy birth date. My IP address. My password hashes.\u201d
There was also \u201cnever any doubt\u201d the service was being used for malicious purposes, Hunt said. He posted screenshots of Twitter users saying they had used LeakedSource for hacking activities.
Others online have wondered if LeakedSource\u2019s apparent closure is a publicity stunt, but Keen disagrees.
\u201cIt\u2019s not positive publicity,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause it is leaving their customers scared and frustrated.\u201d
Users on HackForums are already looking for alternatives. One alternative talked about has been LeakBase.pw , a site that offers similar services.
However, the operators of LeakBase want to avoid any federal investigation.
\u00ab\u00a0If the government genuinely considers our service a threat we will have to shut down as well,\u00a0\u00bb the service said in a Twitter message. \u00ab\u00a0Our team has no intention of breaking the law. \u00a0\u00bb
The service is adding new features and policies to help reduce possible user abuse. \u00ab\u00a0We want to keep offering a service where anyone can search their own data,\u00a0\u00bb it said. \u00ab\u00a0After all, the data is already in the hands of many hackers. \u00ab\u00a0<\/p>\n