Reports Surface on Alleged De-Anonymization of Admins Running Major Russian Hacker Forums
An independent researcher has published a detailed overview drawing on open-source information about the administrators behind several major Russian-language darknet hacker forums.
The article focuses primarily on exploit.in, originally launched in 2006 by a user known as Toha. According to the report, Toha, described as a resident of Kyiv, later transferred or sold the platform and moved on to create DamageLab, also known as xss.is. Toha was reportedly arrested in Kyiv in 2025.
Public records and forum activity point to moderator Quake3 as Anatoly Kravchuk. The moderator stopped logging into the forum on 10 October 2026. German police have placed Anatoly Kravchuk on a wanted list, with unconfirmed reports suggesting he may have been arrested or compelled to cooperate with authorities.
Further details emerged from posts on duty-free.to by user lisa99, who referenced archives identifying Mikhail Rytikov (also known as Abdulla) in connection with server hosting and operations. Anonymous Telegram channels have circulated additional claims about the individuals controlling exploit.in infrastructure, though all information remains unverified.
The researcher notes that several legacy forums, including exploit.in, duty-free.to, and ramp4u.io, are either already seized by law enforcement or nearing the end of their operational life. The report advises against joining such platforms or paying registration fees.
Recent activity on duty-free.to includes participation by the well-known Russian hacker wazawaka. The author invites readers to suggest which forum should be examined in a future overview.
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