By partnering with reputable cybersecurity companies and monitoring dark web activity, businesses in Asia Pacific can better protect their assets and minimize the risk of cyberattacks.”ĭespite the rules of communication between cybercriminals on the forums and “dark web etiquette”, no escrow service protects against cheating. Our latest research highlights the prevalence of escrow services in darknet deals, which serves as a reminder of the need for robust security measures to protect against potential scams and data breaches. Nevertheless, at the end of 2022, we have again seen growing escrow-related activity”, said Vera Kholopova, Security Services Analyst at Kaspersky.Ĭhris Connell, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky added, “As cybercriminals become more sophisticated in their tactics and cybercrime continues to be a growing concern in the Asia Pacific region, it’s important for businesses to stay vigilant and proactive in protecting their assets. This may be a consequence of the escalated geopolitical situation, which motivated cybercriminals to cease their illegal activities and relocate using the accumulated money. In most of 2022, we saw a decline in activity on shadow resources in general. Members of the dark web community were increasingly transitioning there due to the compromise of several popular dark web forums in early 2021. “ The number of messages mentioning escrow services surged in the second half of 2021, and coincided with the dynamics of cybercriminal activity in shadow Telegram channels in general. The total number of messages on shadow sites mentioning escrow agents, In fact, the share of deals with escrow services can be higher since cybercriminals often discuss detailed terms in person without specifying all the particulars in announcements and offers.įigure 1. These messages accounted for 14 percent of the total number of deal-related messages on various dark web resources. The experts found the number of messages mentioning the use of an escrow agent (or other terms such as “guarantor”, “middleman”, “intermediary”, etc., designated to the same services) has amounted to more than one million from January 2020 to December 2022. Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence team monitors the darknet to help companies track cybercriminal discussions and other types of activities to prevent incidents and mitigate risks related to data leaks. For expensive or untypical cases, cybercriminals still engage a human intermediary. It can be a human or an automatic system, developed to speed up and simplify relatively typical deals. When closing any transaction, such as buying databases, accounts, initial corporate accesses, etc., they use intermediary services of escrow agents. Cybercriminals active on the darknet care about their own security, and do not want to become a victim of their “colleagues”.
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