Note

The August 2026 Dark Web Issue Trend Report summarizes Major Issues that occurred on the deep web and dark web. The report notes that, due to the nature of its sources, it may contain some information whose accuracy cannot be fully verified.

Major Issue

• After the RaidForums domain was suspended, a new domain was launched, and a cybercrime forum using the same “RaidForums” name also reappeared. As a result, a mixed landscape was observed, with the original operators transitioning their infrastructure alongside third-party forums adopting the name.
• DarkForums underwent repeated domain changes: after several domains were temporarily suspended, a new domain was registered, and the forum reappeared under yet another new domain.
• XSS Forum unveiled a new main domain and a link-monitoring domain, and changes to the WHOIS status of its existing domain were also confirmed. On BreachForums, a new domain and a Tor address were identified.
• PwnForums was reorganized so that mirror domains undergo redirection to the main site, while Shoutbox noted a recent decline in activity and the departure of some existing users.
• The operational status of LeakZone, as well as the emergence of new cybercrime forums such as DamageLib, UpDap Forums, and Carders, was also confirmed.
• Evidence was found that a repository containing leaked data from major cybercrime forums had been published on GitHub. This is an example of a legitimate development platform being used as an index and distribution channel for leaked data.
• Leek Road was observed to be a site publishing leaked data from unreleased games, and the possibility of copyright-infringing content being combined with cryptocurrency promotional campaigns was also mentioned.

Conclusion

The key trends on the dark web this month include simultaneous domain changes across major forums, confusion surrounding the name “RaidForums,” a decline in activity on PwnForums, and the continuous emergence of new platforms such as LeakZone, DamageLib, UpDap Forums, and Carders. Such changes were attributed to pressure from law enforcement or instability in infrastructure, and the report concluded that one should not judge the source of a post based solely on its name. Furthermore, the GitHub repository and Leek Road cases demonstrated that legitimate platforms and copyright-infringing content can be exploited for dark web propagation and fraudulent activities. Organizations need to maintain multifaceted monitoring that does not rely solely on specific forums or domains, and track patterns of user migration to new forums as well.