This Is How They Sell 'malware' On The 'dark Web' To Increase Cybercrime

This is how they sell ‘malware’ on the ‘dark web’ to increase cybercrime.

Cyber ​​crimes are becoming more and more frequent.

This Is How They Sell 'malware' On The 'dark Web' To Increase Cybercrime

Reputation and trust are essential parts of the business of cybercriminals, who have deployed a market on the ‘dark web’ that promotes the acquisition of ready-to-use ‘malware’ kits at affordable prices, in many cases lower than 10 euros.

The latest security report published by HP Wolf, ’ The Evolution of Cybercrime: Why the Dark Web is Supercharging the Threat Landscape and How to Fight Back’, collects and analyzes research conducted with Forensic Pathways on the ‘dark web’, in which more than 35 million marketplaces and forum posts were tracked and analyzed to understand how cybercriminals operate, how they earn trust and how they build their reputation.

The results show that cybercrime is being promoted through plug-and-play malware kits , which make it easier to launch attacks. Because they reduce the need for technical knowledge and experience to carry out complex and targeted attacks; in fact, only 2 to 3 percent of threat authors are expert programmers.

Malware is also cheap and easy to get. More than three-quarters (76%) of ‘malware’ ads that appear, and 91 percent of ‘exploits’ (code that gives attackers control of systems by taking advantage of software flaws), are They retail for less than 10 euros. The average cost of compromised Remote Desktop Protocol credentials is just under $5.

The report also finds that 77 percent of the cybercriminal markets analyzed require a seller’s bond that can cost up to 3,000 euros . 85 percent of them use escrow payments, and 92 percent have a third-party dispute resolution service.

Cybercriminals also try to stay one step ahead of security forces by transferring their reputation between websites, as the average lifetime of a user or profile using the ‘Tor’ internet browser to navigate the ‘dark web’ is only 55 days.

Likewise, it is concluded with the investigation that cybercriminals are focusing on the search for gaps in the ‘software’ that allow them to gain a foothold and take control of the systems, focusing on known errors and vulnerabilities in common software. .

Some examples are the Windows operating system, Microsoft Office, web content management systems, and web and mail servers. The kits that take advantage of the vulnerabilities of niche systems are the ones that reach the highest prices (they usually range between 1,000 and 4,000 euros).

Zero-day vulnerabilities (those not yet publicly known) sell for tens of thousands of euros on dark web markets.

This is how they are stealing WhatsApp accounts in Colombia

Every time criminals are looking for different ways to do their thing and more so when it comes to computer crimes, where they can access information, data and even impersonate people in order to commit criminal acts.

However, cybercriminals take advantage of the naivete or confidence that people have when opening links or scanning QR codes from accounts that appear official. However, these links have the ability to impersonate identities and clone accounts, both WhatsApp and social networks.

In this sense, the thieves take advantage of the impersonation of accounts to impersonate the affected person and thus, chat with their contacts, ask them to borrow money indicating that they are experiencing an emergency.

The receiver of the message, seeing the need and urgency, in addition to thinking that he is speaking with the real contact, does not have time to verify the information received and in most cases ends up falling into the trap of criminals.

Most of the time, scammers ask for small sums of money to make it easier to persuade victims.

Local authorities recommend always verifying where they receive messages from and be wary of links and QR codes that come from people who generally do not send this type of information.