This article was updated on July 21, 2025 with updated information
Le dark web est souvent un coin mystérieux et incompris du cyberespace. Souvent présenté à tort comme accessible au grand public sur Internet, le dark web n'est en réalité pas aussi facilement accessible qu'il n'y paraît. En effet, il s'agit d'un coin non public d'Internet qui n'est pas visible par les moteurs de recherche et qui nécessite des capacités de navigation spéciales.
Le dark web est généralement un endroit où les individus peuvent opérer sous le couvert de l'anonymat. Par conséquent, cela en fait une plaque tournante pour les activités illicites de cybercriminalité telles que le trafic de drogue, fuites de données, les marchés illégaux et d'autres activités en ligne à caractère criminel. Nichés dans le dark web se trouvent un certain nombre de forums et de serveurs Web où d'autres peuvent partager des informations et se connecter avec des personnes partageant les mêmes idées pour mener des activités illégales.
It’s become increasingly essential to ensure you are taking measures such as dark web monitoring to better protect your business from those utilizing the dark web to conduct their criminal activity. Security analysts can gather open source intelligence (OSINT) on the dark web to better understand threats. We’ll cover the top five dark web forums that will be critical to monitor this year and some best practices to employ when conducting dark web monitoring.
Les forums du dark web valent-ils encore la peine d'être surveillés ?
Alors que d'innombrables cybercriminels mènent souvent leurs activités illégales en dehors du dark web (comme dans chaînes Telegram illicites), many dark web forums are still extensively valuable to monitor regularly. Surveillance du Dark Web can be beneficial to many companies for research and threat intelligence purposes solely. This is because much of the dark web is still prominently full of threat actors eager and willing to connect with others to commit the latest hacks or attack methods successfully. From marketplaces for illegal goods to forums dedicated to hacking and cybercrime, these sites are where some of the most nefarious internet activity can occur.
The benefit of monitoring dark web forums is that they can also be a valuable source of intelligence for law enforcement and cybersecurity professionals. It helps them not only combat illicit and criminal activities but also can help further prevent data breaches and other malicious attacks from happening or from persisting regularly. Ultimately, it is still important and beneficial to businesses to employ security measures that monitor dark web forums for threat intelligence reasons.
Dark Web Forums to Watch
XSS
XSS is a hub for Russian-language threat actors, and primarily focuses on: credential sales, spam, phishing, malware, initial access sale, exploit trading, and data leaks. This forum was linked to ransomware groups such as REvil, LockBit, and Conti. In July 2025, Europol, French, and Ukrainian authorities arrested a threat actor alleged to be the administrator of XSS. The forum continues to remain active under a new unknown administrator, but the former admin’s arrest has sowed suspicion, leading to declines in user count and traffic. Some believe that XSS is a law enforcement honeypot, due to recent bans and blocked cryptocurrency funds.
DamageLib
After the arrest of who is believed to be XSS’s admin, former XSS moderators started DamageLib, as they don’t trust the new XSS admin. The forum claims it does not track users. DamageLib focuses on hacking tutorials, malware development tutorials, exploits and vulnerabilities-related discussions, and indirect sales of MaaS, databases, and more. The forum’s activity remains on the low end as it is impacted by credibility lost over XSS’s fall.
Crainte
Crainte est un forum Web sombre conçu pour imiter l'apparence du site Web de forum légitime Reddit. Après sa création en 2018, ce forum du dark web voit désormais plus de centaines de messages par jour actuellement. Ce forum a été essentiellement créé pour héberger de nombreuses sous-communautés afin d'aider les acteurs de la menace à se connecter et à trouver plus rapidement les informations qu'ils recherchent. La majorité des informations illicites partagées sur Dread concernent fuites de données et vendre des données librement.
Leakbase
One of the more sophisticated forums on the dark web, both in terms of the amount of sensitive data available and the mature approach to discovery and commerce, Leakbase gives hackers a place to sell stolen data and discuss future attacks, often in conjunction. Discussions are conducted in English and, notably, there’s a ban on Russian-data, presumably to avoid geopolitical tensions inviting extra scrutiny. The forum remains active despite at least one domain change and appears poised for longevity and growth given the administrator’s track record.
Exploiter
Comparable in many ways to XSS, Russian hackers also congregate on Exploit.In, which has a presence on both the dark and surface web. From stolen credentials and malware to advice, intelligence, and collaborators, this forum offers everything a cyber criminal would need to launch attacks and pick targets at will. Exploit.In stands out from others by consisting largely of established cyber criminals rather than opportunistic beginners, making it one of the most dangerous forums on the dark web, responsible for facilitating countless cyber attacks over the years.
DarkForums
When another prominent dark web forum called BreachForums was taken down by authorities, many former members migrated to DarkForums, which had a relatively small presence to that point. That quickly changed with the influx of experienced and engaged users who have the option to subscribe to three paid ranks: VIP, MVP, and GOD. Paid subscribers gain access to exclusive Telegram channels and data leak feeds—a sign of forums using mature engagement tactics to attract and retain users.
RAMP
The Russian Anonymous Marketplace (RAMP) has undergone several incarnations since it first appeared over a decade ago, evolving from a marketplace for illicit drugs to one largely focused on cyber crime. RAMP resembles many other dark web forums with one crucial exception: Sites that sell stolen data often prohibit listing involving ransomware attacks following the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attacks in 2021, but RAMP does not have this prohibition. That makes it an invaluable source of information about past and future ransomware attacks, as well as a potent resource for past and future attackers.
The Key Characteristics of Dark Web Forums
In many ways the dark web represents the vanguard of the cyber criminal world, where the most aggressive and ambitious attackers go to plan new attacks and devise innovative methods. As such, the dark web changes constantly, whether that means old forums evolving or new forums emerging. Rather than focusing search efforts on too few forums or missing the newest threats to appear on the dark web, operate instead with a more expansive understanding of what risky dark web communities look like. They all share these features:
- Accessible: Despite the fact the dark web forums are less accessible than anything on the surface or clear web, and many enact barriers like rigorous vetting procedures and high membership fees, these forums still need to be accessible to users. That means even if a source is “closed” it’s not necessarily inaccessible to new members or even security researchers. Never assume that a dark web forum is “out of reach.”
- Organisé: Just like other forums, and related to the previous point, dark web forums are organized around rules, hierarchies, systems, and norms. It’s what makes these forums attractive and keeps them running as intended. However, it’s also what makes these forums identifiable and traceable, giving security teams clues to help anticipate attacks and neutralize threats.
- Fini: Vast as the dark web may be, with people around the world logging on in large numbers, it’s still a finite space that’s not as big as it may seem. There may be large numbers of forums, but many are small or defunct, and many of the users on the larger, more-established forums are not active. Understanding that the dark web isn’t as “unknowable” as it seems helps security teams better utilize this valuable resource.
- Exposable: Since dark web forums are run by real people, they are not as perfectly secure as they appear, even when they have rigorous security and privacy controls in place. Plenty of forums and hacker communities have crashed and burned—to the benefit of defenders—due to mistakes made by their administrators or because of in-fighting among criminals. The evasive maneuvers used on the dark web are not immune to human errors, which is why no forum is immune to exposure and infiltration.
Meilleures pratiques pour la surveillance des forums du dark web
Lors de la mise en œuvre du Web clandestin as part of your cybersecurity strategy, it may seem challenging to implement successfully. However, the benefit to implement dark web monitoring as part of your overall security posture can help your organization stay on top of ongoing threats to industries and provide valuable threat intelligence insights for your company. There are several best practices companies can follow to strengthen their monitoring efforts. Here are four best practices to ensure your dark web monitoring is done effectively:
1. Define the goals of conducting dark web monitoring.
La surveillance du dark web doit toujours être effectuée uniquement dans le but d'une éthique élevée et de la collecte de renseignements. Les organisations doivent viser à établir une base de référence établie d'objectifs, de domaines clés à surveiller et de règles d'engagement. Ils doivent également s'assurer qu'ils recueillent les informations nécessaires pour faciliter l'identification et le suivi des exploits et des actions entreprises par les cybercriminels.
2. Employ the use of staff, tools, and/or automation to support dark web monitoring.
Il existe de nombreux outils et capacités d'automatisation qui peuvent aider les entreprises à effectuer une surveillance régulière du dark web. Ces outils peuvent inclure l'exploration du dark web tout en fournissant des alertes concernant tout exploit notable, mots-clés ou phrases spécifiques à surveiller, et toute information pertinente pouvant nuire à votre marque. De plus, il est important de fournir à votre personnel la formation et les objectifs définis de ce qu'il faut rechercher concernant leurs efforts de surveillance.
3. Implement an escalation policy or procedures regarding dark web monitoring.
Si une menace crédible est détectée, les entreprises doivent avoir une stratégie d'escalade prédéfinie à suivre en conséquence. Ce plan doit également inclure une description de la manière dont les informations seront partagées avec les parties prenantes internes et externes concernées au sein de l'entreprise. Il peut également être important de prendre la mesure de mettre en œuvre un processus de remédiation si des exploits ont été découverts lors de la surveillance du dark web.
4. Ensure regulatory compliance is retained and review measures regularly.
Les entreprises doivent souvent s'assurer que leurs activités de surveillance sont conformes et adhèrent aux lois et réglementations nécessaires pour effectuer la surveillance du dark web. Cela peut inclure des mesures de conformité réglementaire telles que les lois sur la protection des données et les meilleures pratiques en matière de cybersécurité pour garantir que la surveillance est effectuée uniquement à des fins éthiques et de renseignement sur les menaces. De plus, étant donné que le paysage des menaces évolue constamment, il sera utile de s'assurer que les politiques et les pratiques de surveillance du dark web pour votre organisation sont revues et mises à jour régulièrement.
À l'ère numérique d'aujourd'hui, le dark web est devenu un terreau fertile pour la cybercriminalité et d'autres activités illégales. Ce qui en fait une menace importante pour d'innombrables consommateurs et entreprises. La mise en œuvre de la surveillance du dark web est une étape cruciale pour de nombreuses entreprises afin d'identifier les cyber-risques potentiels, les violations de données et d'autres activités illégales. En surveillant efficacement le dark web, les entreprises peuvent garder une longueur d'avance et réagir rapidement aux menaces émergentes, tout en se protégeant elles-mêmes et leurs clients avec succès.
Context: The Key Ingredient for Dark Web Monitoring
Dark web monitoring creates two closely related challenges for security teams. First, even with a list of the most prominent dark web forums, someone has to first gain access and then manually search through the content looking for relevant threat intelligence. It takes massive amounts of time and labor to uncover just a small amount of the intelligence that teams want and need. Which leads to the second issue: gaps in visibility and intelligence gathering result in a surface-level understanding of threats with little security value.
For example: A security analyst finds infostealer logs for sale on the dark web that contain company credentials and secrets. That’s an important find, but teams still need to ascertain what risks that stolen information creates, what damages could result from those risks, and what it would take to remediate them. Plus, they potentially have to repeat this process multiple times as they discover more information on the dark web. They may have found threat intelligence. But it hasn’t translated into stronger, simpler, or more streamlined security, which is the ultimate purpose of dark web monitoring.
Context is what gives dark web threat intelligence meaningful value as a security resource. It’s what helps teams prioritize the risks they find, accurately assess the right response, and orchestrate an efficient remediation, all while dealing with limited resources. Unfortunately, getting context only multiplies the amount of monitoring and intelligence collection for teams, which explains why it’s often lacking. There’s simply not enough hours available to scour the dark web for all it can reveal.
Technology can bridge this gap and supplement threat intelligence with the context necessary to understand threat actors and anticipate future attacks. The dark web used to be a place for hackers to hide. Now, thanks to more context and more threat intelligence, it’s a place where defenders can gain the edge.
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