Research | Our Q3 report details what's new in the world of ransomware.
Reduce Alert Noise and False Positives
Boost your team's productivity by cutting down alert noise and false positives.
Automate Security Operations
Boost efficiency, reduce burnout, and better manage risk through automation.
Dark Web Monitoring
Online protection tuned to the need of your business.
Maximize Existing Security Investments
Improve efficiencies from existing investments in security tools.
Beyond MDR
Move your security operations beyond the limitations of MDR.
Secure with Microsoft 365 E5
Boost the power of Microsoft 365 E5 security.
Secure Multi-Cloud Environments
Improve cloud security and overcome complexity across multi-cloud environments.
Secure Mergers and Acquisitions
Control cyber risk for business acquisitions and dispersed business units.
Operational Technology
Solve security operations challenges affecting critical operational technology (OT) infrastructure.
Force-Multiply Your Security Operations
Whether you’re just starting your security journey, need to up your game, or you’re not happy with an existing service, we can help you to achieve your security goals.
Detection Investigation Response
Modernize Detection, Investigation, Response with a Security Operations Platform.
Threat Hunting
Locate and eliminate lurking threats with ReliaQuest GreyMatter
Threat Intelligence
Find cyber threats that have evaded your defenses.
Model Index
Security metrics to manage and improve security operations.
Breach and Attack Simulation
GreyMatter Verify is ReliaQuest’s automated breach and attack simulation capability.
Digital Risk Protection
Continuous monitoring of open, deep, and dark web sources to identify threats.
Phishing Analyzer
GreyMatter Phishing Analyzer removes the abuse mailbox management by automating the DIR process for you.
Integration Partners
The GreyMatter cloud-native Open XDR platform integrates with a fast-growing number of market-leading technologies.
Unify and Optimize Your Security Operations
ReliaQuest GreyMatter is a security operations platform built on an open XDR architecture and designed to help security teams increase visibility, reduce complexity, and manage risk across their security tools, including on-premises, clouds, networks, and endpoints.
Blog
Company Blog
Case Studies
Brands of the world trust ReliaQuest to achieve their security goals.
Data Sheets
Learn how to achieve your security outcomes faster with ReliaQuest GreyMatter.
eBooks
The latest security trends and perspectives to help inform your security operations.
Industry Guides and Reports
The latest security research and industry reports.
Podcasts
Catch up on the latest cybersecurity podcasts, and mindset moments from our very own mental performance coaches.
Solution Briefs
A deep dive on how ReliaQuest GreyMatter addresses security challenges.
Threat Advisories
The latest threat research report from ReliaQuest Threat Research research team.
White Papers
The latest white papers focused on security operations strategy, technology & insight.
Videos
Current and future SOC trends presented by our security experts.
Events & Webinars
Explore all upcoming company events, in-person and on-demand webinars
ReliaQuest ResourceCenter
From prevention techniques to emerging security trends, our comprehensive library can arm you with the tools you need to improve your security posture.
Threat Research
Get the latest threat analysis from the ReliaQuest Threat Research Team. ReliaQuest ShadowTalk Weekly podcast featuring discussions on the latest cybersecurity news and threat research.
Shadow Talk
ReliaQuest's ShadowTalk is a weekly podcast featuring discussions on the latest cybersecurity news and threat research. ShadowTalk's hosts come from threat intelligence, threat hunting, security research, and leadership backgrounds providing practical perspectives on the week's top cybersecurity stories.
November 30, 2023
About ReliaQuest
We bring our best attitude, energy and effort to everything we do, every day, to make security possible.
Leadership
Security is a team sport.
No Show Dogs Podcast
Mental Performance Coaches Derin McMains and Dr. Nicole Detling interview world-class performers across multiple industries.
Make It Possible
Make It Possible reflects our focus on bringing cybersecurity awareness to our communities and enabling the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
Careers
Join our world-class team.
Press and Media Coverage
ReliaQuest newsroom covering the latest press release and media coverage.
Become a Channel Partner
When you partner with ReliaQuest, you help deliver world-class cybersecurity solutions.
Contact Us
How can we help you?
A Mindset Like No Other in the Industry
Many companies tout their cultures; at ReliaQuest, we share a mindset. We focus on four values every day to make security possible: being accountable, helpful, adaptable, and focused. These values drive development of our platform, relationships with our customers and partners, and further the ReliaQuest promise of security confidence across our customers and our own teams.
More results...
Last week, the cracking forum (specialized in tools for gaining unauthorized access to accounts) known as sentry[.]mba announced they were shifting their communication platform from Discord to Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a move caused by a “sudden ban wave” across the Discord platform. But why bother setting up a messaging platform in the first place? As we detailed in our latest report, Seize and Desist, such platforms offer an alternative way of transacting online and a departure from the centralized market model offered by AlphaBay and its predecessors.
In previous blogs, we’ve discussed how the takedowns of AlphaBay and Hansa have led to the adoption of new technologies, such as blockchain DNS, by cybercriminals. This blog focuses on how messaging platforms are another potential route for cybercriminals.
Figure 1: Sentry MBA Twitter account announces move to IRC network
Chat networks can be utilized in a number of ways, and are certainly not mutually exclusive from the forum-based approach. Often sellers will advertise their service or product on a particular forum, but rather than communicate directly with sellers on the forum or through its private messaging service, buyers are encouraging interested parties to reach out to them directly on alternative chat networks and messaging platforms. With buyers and sellers spread widely across an increasingly decentralized community, the belief is that it will be more difficult for law enforcement operations such as Operation Bayonet to succeed again, which was facilitated by having users congregated into a single, central location such as a marketplace. There are many messaging platforms to choose from, including Discord, Skype, Jabber, and IRC, but the most popular is Telegram. While these platforms pre-dated the takedowns of AlphaBay and Hansa, actors have increasingly turned to them to transact online.
Of all the messaging platforms, it’s Telegram that appears to be experiencing the most growth, with over 5,000 Telegram links shared across criminal forums and dark web sites over the past six months. Of these, 1,667 were invite links to new groups. These covered a range of services, including cashing out, carding, and crypto currency fraud. Within these Telegram channels, sellers post advertisements of their products and services as they would normally do on a marketplace or forum.
One such example is the OL1MP marketplace, a Telegram-based marketplace that provides cashing out services. Cashing out is a way to monetize stolen payment card information. Users can easily select the type of good or service, like drugs or vacations, they wish to purchase with their stolen cards. OL1MP ties in this automated effort with a human touch. As with most marketplaces, reviews are important for attracting new customers. In fact, extra discounts are available for those individuals who post pictures and positive comments from their carded vacations.
Figure 2: OL1MP Telegram channel
In the same way as Tor and I2P are not inherently criminal, nor are messaging platforms. Rather, criminals benefit from the added trust provided by the platforms. While this is an ongoing trend that pre-dates Operation Bayonet, it is yet another example of how criminals have shifted away from the concept of a centralized marketplace. Organizations who wish to track criminal activity online should consider messaging platforms alongside the more traditional forums, message boards and dark web marketplaces.
To find out more about how cybercriminals are shifting away from the marketplace model towards alternative channels, download our report Seize and Desist: The State of Cybercrime in the Post-AlphaBay and Hansa Age.
To stay up to date with the latest Digital Shadows (now ReliaQuest) threat intelligence and news, subscribe to our threat intelligence emails here.