7 Dark Web Forums You Need to Monitor for Improved Cyber Security
The dark web has grown in popularity over the years, as people become increasingly technologically savvy. Using a darknet browser like Tor or I2P enables users to remain anonymous while browsing the internet.
People seek anonymity online for many legitimate reasons. For example, they might have concerns about large companies' abilities to track their online activity, or they might not feel comfortable giving Google all their data. Alternatively, they might live in a place with restrictions on freedom and free speech and necessarily turn to dark web anonymity to access world news or freely share journalism.
However, that same anonymity also protects criminals. It allows them to operate across borders, organize crime and trade in illegal items, both physical and digital. Dark web forums also host discussions on topics including extremist ideas, hate speech, threats of violence, or even plans for cyberattacks.
This wide range of dark web activity is a key concern for security professionals. By monitoring the dark web with OSINT tools, such as Signal, security professionals can discover exploit kits targeting their organization, get early alerts of data breaches, and even prevent physical attacks on assets or employees.
In this article, we examine a few of the more common dark web forums and explore how security professionals can utilize OSINT tools, such as Signal, to more efficiently and effectively monitor threats on the dark web.
About dark web forums as data sources
Because of the anonymity afforded by the dark web, people feel comfortable discussing all manner of things. As such, the dark web – especially dark web forums – is a valuable source of intelligence for security professionals. Monitoring these channels can help expose real and potential threats, ranging from planned attacks, both physical and digital, to fraud, data breaches and more.
Below, we examine 7 of the largest dark web forums that professionals should be aware of as potential sources of security data.
BreachForums
Despite multiple takedowns by law enforcement and rumours that it may now be a ‘honeypot’ (a site compromised by law enforcement or security researchers), BreachForums and the mirror sites that pop up are still a major threat. BreachForums and its mirrors are still one of the most visible places for selling or leaking corporate databases and credentials. If your company data is compromised, it is highly likely it will appear here.
DarkForums
This is a relatively new forum, emerging as a successor to BreachForums. With a rapidly growing user base, this English-language site specializes in data leaks, malware and access sales.
Cracked / Nulled
Cybercriminals mostly use these forums to trade and purchase leaked or hacked information. Despite a significant law enforcement action in mid-2025 (Operation Talent), these forums still have millions of members. They are able to remain in operation in much the same way as BreachForums, by spawning mirror sites.
Dread
Dread is a forum on the darknet that mirrors Reddit’s functionality. It provides the same familiar community discussion boards. The forum takes many ideas from Reddit, such as sub-communities and user moderation responsibilities. The site mimics this functionality without any JavaScript. The primary goal of Dread is to offer a censorship-free forum; however, it also provides hacking guides, software and carding tools, as well as drugs and stolen data. Dread also serves as a place for news on the latest dark web marketplaces.
XSS
A longstanding Russian language forum. XSS has a reputation for high-quality content and is a closed forum with restricted access to approved members. Access to compromised systems is frequently sold and traded on this site.
Exploit
Exploit has been in existence even longer than XSS, for many of the same reasons (high-quality content and restricted access). Due to its longevity, most types of cybercriminal activity can be found in dedicated sections.
RAMP
This is another Russian-language forum that has quickly gained prominence on the dark web. It functions as both a forum and a marketplace for criminal activity with a particular focus on financial fraud.
Other prominent forums
Other active forums with substantial membership include:
LeakBase
Crax
Germania (a German-language forum)
Infinity
HackForums
Sinister.ly
Mirror sites for older forms, such as RaidForums, also persist on the dark web.
The dark web is no longer the only location for this type of activity. Apps such as Telegram and Discord, which sit on the unindexed deep web, are also becoming increasingly popular for cybercriminals to trade exploits, swap information and organize activities.
Related: How Can 4chan be Used as a Data Source for Security Intelligence?
Why dark web monitoring is difficult
Security professionals face numerous challenges when it comes to monitoring the dark web. For a start, there is the sheer volume of posts. With each of these forums and marketplaces operating across numerous time zones, they experience continuous activity. The most popular get tens of thousands of posts a day. Manually monitoring these sites is just not a feasible task.
Secondly, the fluid nature of the dark web community means that forums and marketplaces are forever becoming the victims of law enforcement action, internal troubles or scams. For example, XSS may have become compromised even as this blog is being published. These forums and marketplaces are like a Hydra – when one is cut off, new sites or mirror sites sprout up almost immediately.
Thirdly, the more explicit dark web forums and marketplaces (such as XSS or Exploit) will require you to create an account and may even go some way to verifying that you have the necessary skills to be allowed in. While the anonymity of the dark web means administrators of these forums likely can't work out exactly where you came from or what your true purpose is on their platform, those that are interested might attempt to determine your real identity. When creating an account, it’s essential to make sure it holds no relevance to any other online account you have, if you want to maintain your complete anonymity and avoid becoming a target of those same criminals you are looking to monitor.
Once inside, you must remain active on the platform without arousing suspicion; otherwise, your hard-won access could be revoked.
Finally, a lot of hackers on the dark web would be more than willing to turn their talents and attention to you, should you accidentally cross them. Some websites will infect your device with malware, so treat all links or downloads with suspicion. Additionally, clicking those links may take you to disturbing material. So, unless you’re confident you can safely and securely navigate the dark web, it may be better to look for safer, more efficient alternatives.
How Signal makes dark web monitoring safer and smarter
The Signal OSINT platform works by continuously scanning the surface, deep, and dark web. You can run custom Boolean searches across multiple data sources. These search results can then be filtered using our advanced AI and natural language processing (NLP), which enables you to search across languages, determine location, analyze copy in images and even assess the emotional intent behind text through our NLP software, Spotlight.
The benefits of having a tool like this for monitoring the dark web include efficient, continuous monitoring and assessment of a multitude of sites, allowing security teams to monitor more of the web to catch more threats faster. Because Signal’s searches are across the dark web, rather than specific sites, they do not rely on security teams having up-to-the-minute intelligence about which forums or marketplaces are active and popular. Additionally, security professionals can access this data without ever having to hunt down and access the various dark web forums and marketplaces, which is both more secure and much more time-efficient.
This lets you automate dark web monitoring – cutting costs, while expanding coverage and relevance.