Redazione RHC : 18 August 2025 16:02
A former moderator of the XSS dark web forum, known as Rehub, has launched his own platform called Rehubcom. The move coincides with the arrest of XSS’s administrator in Kiev and the closure of the forum’s domain, as well as the exit of DamageLib, paving the way for new competitors to emerge on the dark web. Rehubcom could be one such replacement, quickly filling the void left by XSS itself.
XSS, originally called DaMaGeLaB, was a forum that appeared on the dark web and was one of the oldest and most influential forums in the cybercrime world.
Exploits, malware, access to corporate networks, and leak databases were exchanged here. The forum had strict rules and an internal structure that made it convenient for organized cybercrime groups. At various times, large ransomware groups such as REvil and LockBit advertised on this platform, until the administration introduced restrictions on ransomware discussion in 2021.
On July 22, 2025, Ukrainian law enforcement arrested an XSS administrator known as Toha. He was responsible not only for the forum itself, but also for the Jabber server thesecure.biz, which provided private communications to participants. It is estimated that millions of euros passed through his activities. After the arrest, the xss.is domain was seized, but new mirrors and an onion address soon appeared, raising concerns about potential intelligence agencies’ control of the resource.
In this context, the launch of Rehubcom seems logical: platforms like this always appear where old ones close. The dark web community adapts very quickly to infrastructure losses, and new resources immediately attract the attention of cybercriminals. The danger of these forums is that they become channels for distributing malicious tools, organizing attacks, and blackmailing victims, becoming key nodes in the modern cybercrime ecosystem.
The Rehubcom story demonstrates that the cybercrime environment knows no respite: even high-profile arrests and shutdowns only temporarily slow the phenomenon, but don’t stop it, turning the fight against such sites into a constant race against the shadows.
Redazione