Cybercriminals are increasingly using IM platforms like Telegram, Discord, Jabber, WhatsApp, IRC and others to advertise and sell their goods and services, IntSight researchers have found.
While traditional cybercrime sources (e.g., forums, black markets, credit card shops, etc.) continue to see regular traffic, peer-to-peer communication networks and chat channels offer advantages like automated answers and chat bots, less rules restricting advertisements of the types of goods threat actors can sell, as well as enhanced security features and data encryption and the option of creating private networks by using decentralized messenger protocols.
Why cybercriminals love IM platforms
IntSights CSO Etay Maor says that the migration to these platforms is at least partially the result of law enforcement operations that targeted the AlphaBay and Hansa markets several years ago, as well as the ongoing law enforcement takedowns of major marketplaces and cybercrime forums.
“Telegram appears to be experiencing the most growth, with more than 56,800 Telegram invite links shared across cybercrime forums and over 223,000 general mentions of the application across forums. Telegram is also the platform most often discussed in foreign language forums,” he noted.
Chatter in cybercriminal forums also points to Discord’s increased popularity among cybercriminals. “Old faithful” ICQ is also a popular choice.
“IM applications are most often used by financial fraud communities,” Maor shared. “Financial threat actors and fraudsters exchange stolen carding information, selling or trading all kinds of credit card dumps, and publishing methods or techniques relevant for the fraud community. In addition, there is also trade of physical items stolen or counterfeited from organizations in the retail industry.”
The IM platforms function as a market and an in ..
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