A major law enforcement operation led by German authorities, with support from eight other countries including the US, France, and Australia, as well as Europol, has successfully taken down two of the world’s largest cybercrime forums, Cracked and Nulled. The operation, named Operation Talent, took place from 28-30 January, 2025, and resulted in the seizure of critical infrastructure used by the forums, including 17 servers, 12 domains, and 50 electronic devices.
The seized servers have provided law enforcement with valuable information on approximately 10 million users of Cracked and Nulled, including email addresses, IP addresses, and communication histories. This data will serve as a basis for further investigations into criminal activities conducted on these platforms. Visitors to the websites are now greeted with an Operation Talent banner as a result of the takedown.
In addition to shutting down the forums, other associated services were also targeted in the operation. A financial processor named Sellix, which was used by Cracked, and a hosting service called StarkRDP, which was promoted on both platforms, were taken down. Two individuals suspected of involvement in running the sites were arrested, and seven properties were searched as part of the operation. The suspects, both German citizens aged 29 and 32, are believed to have earned €1 million in criminal profits. A total of eight individuals have been identified as directly involved in operating the criminal trading platforms, including the two arrested suspects.
Law enforcement also seized approximately €300,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies during the operation. Cracked.io made an announcement on its Telegram channel regarding the takedown, stating that the site had been seized under Operation Talent and that further details would be provided once official court documentation is received.
Cracked.io and Nulled.io were key players in the cybercrime-as-a-service ecosystem, providing a platform for selling cybercriminal tools and services. These services included AI-based tools and scripts for scanning security vulnerabilities and optimizing attacks. The platforms also shared security vulnerabilities and provided tutorials on cybercriminal activities such as malware creation and phishing techniques, making them one-stop shops for illegal goods and cybercrime services.
The US Department of Justice estimates that the Cracked forum alone generated approximately $4 million in revenue and impacted at least 17 million victims in the US. Nulled is estimated to have generated around $1 million in yearly revenue. This operation comes on the heels of German police successfully shutting down the country’s largest illegal dark web marketplace, Crimenetwork, in December 2024.
Overall, Operation Talent has dealt a significant blow to the cybercrime underground, crippling two major platforms and disrupting the flow of illegal goods and services. With the cooperation of multiple countries and law enforcement agencies, efforts to combat cybercrime continue to yield results in dismantling criminal networks and protecting internet users from malicious activities.