News report

# Cybercrime forum Darkode returns with security, admins intact

The Register, July 28, 2015. Reported relaunch of the Darkode forum on darkode.cc as a Tor-based, invite-only site roughly two weeks after the July 2015 Operation Shrouded Horizon takedown, with administrators reportedly intact.

**Source type:** News report

**Published:** July 28, 2015

**Research grade:** S2

**Used in entries:** 2

## Bibliographic record

**Publisher:** The Register

**Published:** July 28, 2015

**Source type:** News report

**Research grade:** Source grade S2

**Language:** English

**Official record:** Not an official publication

**Address:** [https://www.theregister.com/2015/07/28/darkode\_returns/](https://www.theregister.com/2015/07/28/darkode_returns/)

**What it supports:** Reported relaunch of the Darkode forum on darkode.cc as a Tor-based, invite-only site roughly two weeks after the July 2015 Operation Shrouded Horizon takedown, with administrators reportedly intact

**Dataset id:** src\_register\_darkode\_return\_2015

## Research notes

- Live page read 2026-08-23; byline Darren Pauli, timestamped 'Tue 28 Jul 2015 // 08:27 UTC'.
- Subheading: 'Revived invite-only site has cleared out snitches, will rely on blockchain authentication'.
- Single-outlet trade-press report relaying claims attributed to the forum operator 'Sp3cial1st', hence S2 rather than S1; it is evidence that a relaunch was claimed and reported, not independent confirmation of operator continuity.

How this source is used

Cited 2 times across 2 record types.

The role on each citation records what the source was relied on for. A primary source establishes the fact, a supporting source corroborates it, technical evidence describes the infrastructure, and a later outcome records what happened afterwards.

Sources were reviewed to a research cutoff of August 23, 2026. Addresses recorded after that date are not reflected here.

## Cited by

### Takedown records

1 citation

Cited on the takedown record itself.

-
[Darkode forum takedown](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/darkode-forum-takedown)

Malware and botnets, July 2015

Supporting source

### Later activity

1 citation

Cited for activity recorded after the takedown.

-
[Darkode forum relaunch (darkode.cc)](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/darkode-forum-takedown)

Same operators, Darkode forum takedown

Later outcome

[All sources](https://takedownindex.org/sources)