Our blogs have covered the fate of numerous cybercriminal marketplaces on the clear, deep, and dark web over the years. Our research has uncovered several factors determining a platform’s chances of success, including market share, USP, security, and convenience. We’ve mainly focused our attention and threat intelligence articles on the rise and fall of several […]
There is light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel: Countries are now beginning a gradual return to normalcy thanks to vaccination programs. Many people—cybercriminals included—are most looking forward to going on post-vaccination vacations and catching up on all the travel that’s been missing over the past year. Countries are opening up their borders to […]
Once upon a time, a high-profile dark web marketplace seizure or exit scam would have been big news in the cybercriminal community. When Empire marketplace went down we saw widespread expressions of shock, fear, and speculation. But is the strength of reaction to such events beginning to diminish? The recent alleged seizure of the carding […]
It’s often the case that a sequel to a great book or a remake of a once-popular TV series doesn’t generate the same enthusiasm or excitement as the original. Of course, there are well-known exceptions to this… For the movie fans out there, The Godfather Part II stands out as one example. More often than […]
What happened to Joker’s Stash? In a very recent event, the Blockchain domains of Joker’s Stash, an automated vending cart (AVC) known for the sale of payment card details, allegedly displayed a notification that the US Department of Justice and Interpol seized the site. The team behind Joker’s Stash maintain several versions of the site, […]
The Olympus cybercriminal marketplace has been caught up in another PR disaster, with the owners reportedly conducting an exit scam and stealing user funds. Early this month, discussions on the online Dread forum hinted that the highly regarded (emphasis on the past tense) Olympus went offline, though this was unconfirmed. Reasons for its sudden inactivity […]
In ShadowTalk this week, Richard Gold, Simon Hall and Rafael Amado focus on the trade-offs between security and usability, as well as the practice of security layering that can often make us more insecure. The team look over security measures such as regular complex password expiry policies that create headaches for organizations and end users. […]
It’s that time of year again. Summer is drawing to a close and retailers are making the most of the rush to stock up on supplies and learning materials before classes begin. However, as we highlighted last year in our Inside Online Carding Courses Designed for Cybercriminals report, a market has emerged for a very […]
Since the takedowns of AlphaBay and Hansa in 2017, the cybercriminal community has been incorporating alternative technologies to improve both security and trust for those conducting illicit business online. Our latest report, Seize and Desist: The State of Cybercrime in the Post-AlphaBay and Hansa Age, looks at what technologies and processes have been the most popular. […]
Last week we wrote about the disappearance of AlphaBay dark web marketplace and assessed three potential scenarios to look out for next. We briefly alluded to new models for criminal online commerce, such as those espoused by OpenBazaar. In this blog, we wanted to drill down into the drivers that would contribute to an increased […]