Cybercrime and Dark Web Research

How cybercriminals are taking advantage of COVID-19: Scams, fraud, and misinformation

March 12, 2020 | 9 Min Read

In the wake of large-scale global events, cybercriminals are among the first to attempt to sow discord, spread disinformation, and seek financial gain. In February 2020, the World Health...
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Saving the SOC from overload by operationalizing digital risk protection

Saving the SOC from overload by operationalizing digital risk protection

August 5, 2020 | 4 Min Read

As you may have seen last week, the latest research from our Photon Research team explores the increasing phenomenon of...
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The story of Nulled: Old dog, new tricks

The story of Nulled: Old dog, new tricks

August 4, 2020 | 9 Min Read

It is often said that old dogs have a hard time learning new tricks, yet researchers have claimed that because...
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BitBazaar Market and The Rise of Neptune Market: The End of the Saga spells hope for another

BitBazaar Market and The Rise of Neptune Market: The End of the Saga spells hope for another

August 3, 2020 | 8 Min Read

Those running dark web marketplaces will do almost anything to achieve their desire to make a lot of money or...
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Dark Web Travel Agencies Revisited: The Impact of Coronavirus on the Shadow Travel Industry

Dark Web Travel Agencies Revisited: The Impact of Coronavirus on the Shadow Travel Industry

July 29, 2020 | 10 Min Read

However, the level of engagement on Patriarh’s formerly-active threads has dropped significantly since we last shone our spotlight on them....
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Account takeover: Expanding on impact

Account takeover: Expanding on impact

July 27, 2020 | 7 Min Read

Digital Shadows has collected over 15 billion credentials across the open, deep, and dark web. In our recent research piece,...
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Ransomware Trends in Q2: How Threat Intelligence Helps

Ransomware Trends in Q2: How Threat Intelligence Helps

July 22, 2020 | 8 Min Read

If you’re anything like me, it can be a struggle to keep up with the latest ransomware news. Last quarter,...
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The Rise of OpenBullet: A Deep Dive in the Attacker’s ATO toolkit

The Rise of OpenBullet: A Deep Dive in the Attacker’s ATO toolkit

July 20, 2020 | 9 Min Read

Account takeover (ATO) has become a serious issue for many organizations. Digital Shadows has identified over 15 billion credentials circulating...
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Abracadabra! – CryptBB demystifying the illusion of the private forum

Abracadabra! – CryptBB demystifying the illusion of the private forum

July 15, 2020 | 8 Min Read

You wouldn’t usually associate cybercriminal forums with the mysterious “Magic Circle,” (for non-Brits less familiar with the subject, the Magic...
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SearchLight’s Credential Validation: Only Focus on What Matters

SearchLight’s Credential Validation: Only Focus on What Matters

July 14, 2020 | 4 Min Read

Of the many use cases associated with threat intelligence and digital risk protection, monitoring for exposed credentials is always one...
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Tax Fraud in 2020: Down But Not Out

Tax Fraud in 2020: Down But Not Out

July 13, 2020 | 4 Min Read

After a three month extension, tomorrow marks tax deadline day for the United States. While it may seem that tax...
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From Exposure to Takeover: Part 1. Beg, borrow, and steal your way in

From Exposure to Takeover: Part 1. Beg, borrow, and steal your way in

July 7, 2020 | 9 Min Read

Account Takeover: Why criminals can’t resist We rely on passwords to safeguard those precious accounts that allow us to conduct...
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Digital Risk Reporting Best Practices: Top 10 Ways to Build Killer Reports in SearchLight

Digital Risk Reporting Best Practices: Top 10 Ways to Build Killer Reports in SearchLight

June 30, 2020 | 4 Min Read

We all have those days or that time of the quarter where management demands a nice glossy report with the...
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Multiple vs. Exclusive Sales on the Dark Web: What’s in a sale?

Multiple vs. Exclusive Sales on the Dark Web: What’s in a sale?

June 29, 2020 | 9 Min Read

When going out on a shopping spree, you would naturally have different expectations of price, accessibility, quality, and exclusivity of...
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Introducing Nulledflix – Nulled forum’s own streaming service

Introducing Nulledflix – Nulled forum’s own streaming service

June 23, 2020 | 8 Min Read

Lockdowns implemented during the COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic have forced people around the world to spend a large part of...
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Torigon Forum: A sad case of all show and no go

Torigon Forum: A sad case of all show and no go

June 23, 2020 | 11 Min Read

When we review the ideal template for a successful cybercriminal forum, we are on the lookout for several key factors:...
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Ensuring order in the underground: Recruiting moderators on cybercriminal forums

Ensuring order in the underground: Recruiting moderators on cybercriminal forums

June 18, 2020 | 10 Min Read

While there have been many predictable consequences of the ongoing global COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic, few would have foreseen significant...
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Security Threat Intel Products and Services: Mapping SearchLight

Security Threat Intel Products and Services: Mapping SearchLight

June 10, 2020 | 6 Min Read

1. TI Analyst Augmentation. Very few organizations have access to vast resources that will enable them to build out a...
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New DDoS protection tool advertised on the dark web

New DDoS protection tool advertised on the dark web

June 9, 2020 | 7 Min Read

This blog examines a newly launched DDoS protection filter mechanism dubbed EndGame advertised last week on the dark web community...
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Dark Web Digest: Exploring the risk impact of dark web findings, the evolution of forums, and observed trends

Dark Web Digest: Exploring the risk impact of dark web findings, the evolution of forums, and observed trends

May 29, 2020 | 12 Min Read

This week, Digital Shadows hosted a webinar covering dark web trends that we have recently observed, the risk impact associated...
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3 Phishing Trends Organizations Should Watch Out For

3 Phishing Trends Organizations Should Watch Out For

May 20, 2020 | 16 Min Read

It’s only May, and is it just me, or has this already been the longest decade ever? Cyber-threat actors are...
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The 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report: One CISO’s View

The 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report: One CISO’s View

May 19, 2020 | 6 Min Read

Sadly, Marvel’s Black Widow release date was pushed back as a result of COVID19, but thankfully the 2020 Verizon Data...
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A NEW DECADE OF CYBER THREATS: LOOKING BACK AT THE TRENDING CYBER TOPICS OF Q1 2020

A NEW DECADE OF CYBER THREATS: LOOKING BACK AT THE TRENDING CYBER TOPICS OF Q1 2020

May 14, 2020 | 10 Min Read

Q1 2020 was packed full of significant global events, including military and geopolitical tensions and the onset of the COVID-19...
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BitBazaar Market: Deception and Manipulation on the Dark Web

BitBazaar Market: Deception and Manipulation on the Dark Web

May 12, 2020 | 8 Min Read

It’s a BitBazaar that they thought they could deceive us!: A Soap opera featuring dark web forums and marketplaces “When...
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Competitions on English-language cybercriminal forums: A stagnant competition model?

Competitions on English-language cybercriminal forums: A stagnant competition model?

May 5, 2020 | 9 Min Read

Russian-language cybercriminal forums aren’t the only ones to host competitions.  In January 2020, we published a blog about competitions on...
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Charitable Endeavors on Cybercriminal Forums

Charitable Endeavors on Cybercriminal Forums

April 28, 2020 | 12 Min Read

One heart-warming aspect of modern society is the increased prevalence of charitable endeavors during times of crisis. Philanthropy has loomed...
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Nulled: The modern cybercriminal forum to go mobile….?

Nulled: The modern cybercriminal forum to go mobile….?

April 22, 2020 | 9 Min Read

What’s more threatening than the thought of a cybercriminal sitting at their laptop and carefully manipulating their way into your...
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What ‘The Wire’ can teach us about cybersecurity

What ‘The Wire’ can teach us about cybersecurity

April 21, 2020 | 12 Min Read

In the current era of self-isolation, remote work, and constant tweets offering epidemiological hot takes, now is the perfect time...
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Zoom Security and Privacy Issues: Week in Review

Zoom Security and Privacy Issues: Week in Review

April 17, 2020 | 10 Min Read

In the last month, you’ve likely been hearing about the video conferencing app Zoom more than ever before. With so...
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Recon: Dark web reconnaissance made to look easy

Recon: Dark web reconnaissance made to look easy

April 3, 2020 | 4 Min Read

Just as the rest of us enjoy the ease of obtaining all sorts of products provided by the countless e-commerce...
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Coronavirus as a double-edged sword for cybercriminals: Desperation or opportunity?

Coronavirus as a double-edged sword for cybercriminals: Desperation or opportunity?

April 2, 2020 | 9 Min Read

The ongoing COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic is having a highly detrimental effect on most businesses and organizations, yet companies linked...
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COVID-19: Companies and Verticals At Risk For Cyber Attacks

COVID-19: Companies and Verticals At Risk For Cyber Attacks

March 26, 2020 | 8 Min Read

  In our recent blog, How cybercriminals are taking advantage of COVID-19: Scams, fraud, and misinformation, Digital Shadows highlighted some...
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Kapusta.World: The fiendish cabbage exemplifying cybercriminal marketing in the modern era

Kapusta.World: The fiendish cabbage exemplifying cybercriminal marketing in the modern era

March 24, 2020 | 8 Min Read

  Over the last few months, the Russian-language cybercriminal landscape has been invaded by cabbages. Or, specifically, one rather friendly-looking...
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COVID-19: Dark Web Reactions

COVID-19: Dark Web Reactions

March 19, 2020 | 5 Min Read

  Digital Shadows has been researching the cybercriminal response to the COVID-19 outbreak sweeping across the globe. We’ve been monitoring...
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Apollon Dark Web Marketplace: Exit Scams and DDoS Campaigns

Apollon Dark Web Marketplace: Exit Scams and DDoS Campaigns

March 17, 2020 | 8 Min Read

  Imagine logging on to your favorite e-commerce site, finding your favorite author’s newest book for sale, making the purchase,...
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How cybercriminals are taking advantage of COVID-19: Scams, fraud, and misinformation

How cybercriminals are taking advantage of COVID-19: Scams, fraud, and misinformation

March 12, 2020 | 9 Min Read

In the wake of large-scale global events, cybercriminals are among the first to attempt to sow discord, spread disinformation, and...
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How One Cybercriminal Forum is Helping to Address Suicide Awareness

How One Cybercriminal Forum is Helping to Address Suicide Awareness

March 10, 2020 | 4 Min Read

  The world can be a stressful place regardless of circumstance. Yet we do not normally associate mental health awareness...
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Dark Web Search Engine Kilos: Tipping the Scales in Favor of Cybercrime

Dark Web Search Engine Kilos: Tipping the Scales in Favor of Cybercrime

March 5, 2020 | 7 Min Read

  With the recent indictment of Larry Harmon, alleged operator of the Bitcoin tumbling service Helix and darknet search engine...
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FBI IC3 2019: Cybercrime results in over $3.5 billion in reported losses

FBI IC3 2019: Cybercrime results in over $3.5 billion in reported losses

March 3, 2020 | 8 Min Read

  On February 11th, we were treated to an early surprise: The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its...
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The Ecosystem of Phishing: From Minnows to Marlins

The Ecosystem of Phishing: From Minnows to Marlins

February 20, 2020 | 31 Min Read

YOU JUST WON $1,000. CLICK HERE TO CLAIM YOUR REWARD!  IMMEDIATE! NEED WIRE DETAILS. Check out this cat doing cat...
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Cybercriminal Forums on Valentine’s Day – A nice night to “Netflix and steal”…

Cybercriminal Forums on Valentine’s Day – A nice night to “Netflix and steal”…

February 17, 2020 | 6 Min Read

  It’s the night before Valentine’s Day, and it suddenly clicks in your mind that you have totally overlooked one...
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Dark web travel agencies: Take a trip on the dark side

Dark web travel agencies: Take a trip on the dark side

February 4, 2020 | 11 Min Read

For at least the last two years, an ecosystem of fraud has been perpetrated by cybercriminals against nearly every major...
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Competitions on Russian-language cybercriminal forums: Sharing expertise or threat actor showboating?

Competitions on Russian-language cybercriminal forums: Sharing expertise or threat actor showboating?

January 30, 2020 | 9 Min Read

  You might be feeling the pinch at this time of year… The financial demands of Christmas have taken their...
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How the Cybercriminal Underground Mirrors the Real World

How the Cybercriminal Underground Mirrors the Real World

January 21, 2020 | 7 Min Read

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall. Who’s the best cybercriminal of them all? The terms cybercriminal and hacker often conjure up...
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Cryptonite: Ransomware’s answer to Superman…

Cryptonite: Ransomware’s answer to Superman…

January 14, 2020 | 4 Min Read

  Update: It appears that the Cryptonite website is no longer active, such is the rapidly changing nature of cybercrime....
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