National Crime Agency takes part in global operation to take down hacking website linked to Lizard Squad

Coventry man arrested and bailed in global operation against cyber criminals

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has taken part in a global operation to close down Darkode.com, a "dark web" hacking forum used by Lizard Squad and other cyber-crime groups.

At the same time, 28 people around the world, including a 26-year-old man from Coventry, have been arrested. An address in Paisley, Scotland, was also searched by Police Scotland.

Darkode.com was used to propagate hacking tools and to share knowledge among cyber-crime gangs. However, the site was only open to people deemed to have the right levels of cyber crime knowledge, as well as criminal intent, according to the NCA. It has now been taken down by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In total, 70 people in 20 countries have been arrested for offences related to Darkode, according to the NCA.

Five other people believed to have been members of Darkode were arrested earlier by officers from the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit, which has coordinated the UK end of the global operation.

They include:

According to the NCA, Darkode was one of the most prominent English-language web forums facilitating the trade in goods and services related to cyber-crime activity. It propagated malware, zero-day exploits and access to compromised servers.

Only those proposed for membership by an existing user could join, and then they had to post a curriculum vitae detailing their skills and achievements to enjoy full membership, claimed the NCA. There was a hierarchical membership structure, and the status of users determined who they could communicate with, and their access to the commodities and services on offer.

The European part of the international operation was coordinated from a command post at the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), at Europol, based in The Hague.

"This has been a truly global operation, targeting both the infrastructure of an online hub for high-end cyber crime, and suspected members of its criminal community. Despite the exclusive nature of Darkode and the technical skills of its users, this action shows once again that we can identify and pursue those we believe are seeking to offend through an appdarkrently secure online environment, far removed from their victims," said Steven Laval, senior investigating officer at the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit.