[Back to the takedown index](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns)

# Darkode forum takedown

July 2015, Criminal hosting and proxies
Led by [Federal Bureau of Investigation](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation)

Extended pass entry, last reviewed August 21, 2026

What was taken down?

Forum infrastructure was seized and taken offline; a seizure notice replaced the site.

[See what happened](#what-happened)

What happened to the people?

Officials reported 28 apprehended.
Group accounted for: Partial

[See people and accountability](#people)

Did it stay down?

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

[See what happened afterward](#afterward)

## What happened

FBI and international partners across around 20 countries seized the Darkode cybercrime forum, an invite-only English-language marketplace for malware and hacking tools/services, with numerous arrests announced the same day.

**Date:** July 2015

**Target:** Darkode, cybercrime forum

**Activity:** Criminal hosting and proxies

**Operational lead:** FBI

**Partners**

USAO-WDPA[[1]](#source-1)

- [United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/united-states-attorney-s-office-for-the-western-district-of-pennsylvania), prosecuting

**Jurisdiction:** Not established

**Outcome:** Forum infrastructure was seized and taken offline; a seizure notice replaced the site.

**Status:** Completed

**Legal mechanism:** Federal criminal process (W.D. Pa.); coordinated international arrest warrants.

**Group accounted for:** Partial

### Infrastructure

1 domain seized.

| Identifier | Recorded as | Status | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| darkode[.]com | 1 domain | Seized, United States | Primary forum domain seized and replaced with a law-enforcement notice.[[1]](#source-1) |

Domains and onion addresses are shown defanged. Where the record gives a count but no identifier, the count is shown in place of one. This list carries only what appears in the cited sources.

## People and accountability

No individual is named against this entry in the cited record. That is a gap in what has been published rather than a finding that nobody was involved.

Group accounted for: Partial

Roughly two dozen defendants were charged across multiple countries; the broader membership was not fully accounted for.

[See the organizations and roles behind this action](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/darkode-forum-takedown/organizations)

## What happened afterward

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

## Sources

Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them.

### Official sources

1.
[Darkode forum takedown announcement](https://takedownindex.org/sources/us-doj-usao-wdpa-darkode-forum-takedown-announcement)

US DOJ / USAO WDPA, July 15, 2015, Source grade S2

Establishes the international Darkode forum seizure and coordinated arrests.

No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher.

Coverage note. Added from deep-research aggregation pass. Not independently re-verified source-by-source to the same standard as the original 38-incident core; source\_quality capped at S2/P2 pending a dedicated verification pass.

Research context

## How this entry was checked

This entry came from a broader aggregation pass and has not been independently verified source by source. Its sources are graded no higher than P2 or S2, and most carry no address yet. Treat the figures as a research lead rather than a settled record.

Source review: Extended pass, not yet verified

Sources cited: 1

Research cutoff: August 20, 2026

Last reviewed August 21, 2026

See also

[About the Internet Takedown Index](https://takedownindex.org/about)

Related entries

- [Dridex/Bugat/Cridex disruption](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/dridex-bugat-cridex-disruption)
- [Operation Source / Beebone botnet disruption](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-source-beebone-botnet-disruption)
- [Operation Pacifier / Playpen](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-pacifier-playpen)

Report updates or corrections

Help keep this record accurate.

[Submit feedback](https://takedownindex.org/about#corrections-and-updates)