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Crime

Telegram Emerges as New Dark Web for Cyber Criminals (ft.com) 44

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Telegram has exploded as a hub for cybercriminals looking to buy, sell and share stolen data and hacking tools, new research shows, as the messaging app emerges as an alternative to the dark web. From a report: An investigation by cyber intelligence group Cyberint, together with the Financial Times, found a ballooning network of hackers sharing data leaks on the popular messaging platform, sometimes in channels with tens of thousands of subscribers, lured by its ease of use and light-touch moderation. In many cases, the content resembled that of the marketplaces found on the dark web, a group of hidden websites that are popular among hackers and accessed using specific anonymising software. "We have recently been witnessing a 100 per cent-plus rise in Telegram usage by cybercriminals," said Tal Samra, cyber threat analyst at Cyberint.

"Its encrypted messaging service is increasingly popular among threat actors conducting fraudulent activity and selling stolen dataâ... as it is more convenient to use than the dark web." The rise in nefarious activity comes as users flocked to the encrypted chat app earlier this year after changes to the privacy policy of Facebook-owned rival WhatsApp prompted many to seek out alternatives. Launched in 2013, Telegram allows users to broadcast messages to a following via "channels," or create public and private groups that are simple for others to access. Users can also send and receive large data files, including text and zip files, directly via the app.
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Telegram Emerges as New Dark Web for Cyber Criminals More

Telegram Emerges as New Dark Web for Cyber Criminals

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  • yea right (Score:3)

    by snowshovelboy ( 242280 ) on Friday September 17, 2021 @10:12AM (#61804363)

    Everyone knows the best hackers on the dark web use Anom

  • Its "new feature introduction" rate helps a lot (Score:3)

    by bogaboga ( 793279 ) on Friday September 17, 2021 @10:23AM (#61804397)

    "Its encrypted messaging service is increasingly popular among threat actors conducting fraudulent activity and selling stolen data... as it is more convenient to use than the dark web."

    The rate at which this app introduces [new] features is astonishing...Lately, I learnt that one can essentially run their own radio or TV station, broadcasting to thousands of group members.

    The day it'll "bake" a VPN therein will be another milestone. I know it's coming.

  • Hit job (Score:5, Insightful)

    by countach ( 534280 ) on Friday September 17, 2021 @10:30AM (#61804433)

    This story sounds like a bit of a hit job against Telegram by some competitors hoping to start a narrative about why it should be banned.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Halueth ( 776646 )
      I'm surprised they didn't add the "think of the children" mantra already ;-)
    • Most stories against Telegram sound like that. Either competitors or State actors who want to spread FUD about end to end encryption (or just encryption in general). One of the ways I convinced my security-conscious father to join me on there was to bring up the "its so secure and private that even terrorists trust it!" point.

      • Honestly, my gut tells me this was written by a government official in yet another attempt to drum up public support for back-dooring / breaking all encryption because we can't let people have any form of privacy ever. If you want privacy, you absolutely MUST be doing something wrong.

        It's getting to be truly disgusting how much effort our elected officials put into trying to control and track us. I miss the days when I thought technology was going to open things up for us and make life better. Now it's j

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          This crap crops up time and again. There is a class of people that fundamentally cannot stand others communicating privately.

      • Hasn't anyone noticed that there haven't been any accusations against Mega (https://mega.io) for hosting CSAM? This is because they, unlike our tech giants, they use end-to-end encryption properly (pro tip: don't ever use the web interface).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Pretty much, yes. While we are at it, we should probably ban dark alleys and maybe people generally. You know, all these can facilitate crime.

    • As long as no CP is shared on Telegram there's no chance it'll get banned.

  • Shoes! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MarcoPon ( 689115 ) on Friday September 17, 2021 @10:36AM (#61804461) Homepage
    Another investigation have shown an alarming high use of shoes by the criminals. They use them for walking and running faster and for longer time. Imagine that!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ET3D ( 1169851 )

      Not a good analogy. Had you said "Adidas" (or some such) instead of "shoes", it might have worked. It would also have been somewhat interesting.

      • Not a good analogy. Had you said "Adidas" (or some such) instead of "shoes", it might have worked. It would also have been somewhat interesting.

        That reminds me of when people were calling New Balance shoes the official shoe of white supremacists. As a middle-aged white guy who wears New Balance sneakers every day, this had me laughing nervously for a while. Good smear on New Balance though! I wonder if it affected their sales at all.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by cb88 ( 1410145 )
        So it *was* the Russians all along... I bet these guys running Telegram have Kasperskey AV on their computers too!

  • TCP/IP and UDP emerge as new technology used by criminals! Math too! News at 11pm!

  • Based on its Russian roots color me surprised.

  • People are no longer complaining about how iPhones are too secure. Everyone knows they scan messages before they are encrypted. The remaining security-conscious have probable moved on.

  • User of WhatsApp, Signal and some others app, I find Telegram the best app for messaging. Dont even know if it is the most secure one, but I guess if criminals use it there is a good chance that's it's one of the best. Perfect.

  • Had a brief mental picture of a group of sleezy internet criminals all standing around watching someone tap dots and dashes on brass "apparatus" of some sort. Then I heard Robert Loggia's voice say something about bringing the sons of bitches down.

  • Authoritatians at the gates (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sinij ( 911942 ) on Friday September 17, 2021 @11:25AM (#61804605)
    Authoritarians can't stand the fact that they can't control people's private communications. As such, every woke Dick, Harry and msmash are pushing smears against Telegram.

    Guess what, cyber criminals also like cheese. Lets ban that. Why won't you think of the children?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Authoritarians can't stand the fact that they can't control people's private communications. As such, every woke Dick, Harry and msmash are pushing smears against Telegram.

      Guess what, cyber criminals also like cheese. Lets ban that. Why won't you think of the children?

      Very much so. Historically, these assholes invented things like all-seeing goods, because there was no way to actually look at most communication and so they tried to make people at least think they were under constant surveillance. Now that they can, in theory, read everything, they push as hard as they dare for it and with as much lying as they think they can get away with.

  • Telegram has exploded as a hub for cybercriminals

    Seems like a hit-piece on Telegram — ordered by Facebook after seeing privacy-conscious users (and their friends) move [theguardian.com] to Telegram and others, and, likely, aided by the security apparatus annoyed by the Telegram making their job (slightly) harder.

    Its encrypted messaging service is increasingly popular among threat actors

    It is increasingly popular among everyone — except the far-Left bootlickers, willing to surrender their (and our) privacy to "pre [slashdot.org]

    • Re:A hit-piece on Telegram... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by fafalone ( 633739 ) on Friday September 17, 2021 @01:42PM (#61804961)
      Oh please. Fighting end to end encryption is way more popular on the right than the left. The right fucking worships the police, and opposition to any limit on them is mainstream. You're being extraordinarily intellectually dishonest portraying the only opposition to end to end encryption being the far left, where opinions like that are *not* popular... Less popular than Qanon is on the right for sure. Of course, projection is endemic to right wing authoritarians. You have trouble with the cognitive dissonance of knowing it's primarily conservatives and center-right Dems pushing mass surveillance and encryption bans, so you find some jackass who agrees from the left and fire up the IMAX so you can enjoy the sweet denial that you're not the cancer.
      Let's go beyond idiots on /., Who's pushing this stuff? Barr, Wray, Comey, Holder; Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton and Marsha Blackburn who introduced a bill explicitly banning it [9to5mac.com], remember all the Republicans clamoring for a different bill, the EARN IT act, that would also result in banning E2E?
      So yes you may find a few on the left who support it too, but this is primarily something Republicans and moderates support.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by mi ( 197448 )

        Fighting end to end encryption is way more popular on the right than the left.

        Citations needed. I gave you an explicit link to a self-admitted Left slashdotter, who wants his instant messages monitored to "prevent another January 6th".

        The right fucking worships the police

        We respect our employees — the people we hire to maintain law and order in the streets. The guys, whom you call "bastards" [wikipedia.org] and seek to defund [wikipedia.org].

        Barr, Wray, Comey, Holder; Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton and Marsha Blackburn

        Comey, huh? Yeah,

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          Cancer is you

          Yes, mi, cancer is indeed you. A fucking blight is what you are.

      • Ignore the specifics, focus only on the team!

  • This is what happens when everybody bleats "crpyto is only for criminals".

  • If it's secure enough to keep criminals from getting caught, it should be good enough for my private, if legal, communication.

    I'm sold.

    • Same here.

      Hitpieces by the security state are the best kind of advertising.

      Privacy is an important defense against authoritarian tyrants.

  • I-95 has emerged as the new super highway for criminals fleeing the scene of the crime. We must put a stop to this insanity. /Sarc

  • Sounds like the kind of crap youd read in a british paper .... oh wait

  • What the hell is "dark" about a network that isn't even end-to-end encrypted?

    Literally WhatsApp is more "dark", given that it at least claims it encrypts end to end. The tunnel goes between untrustworthy closed source, making it almost pointless, but still.

    Just say "Meesa hate Russia. Meesa wanta cold war 2.0 for profita!". No need to disguise it. It's OK. Putin definitely wants the same thing. ^^

  • It has been noted that criminals are using voice in a private context to coordinate.

  • Time and time again, only old fashioned police work is needed to break criminal rings - infiltration. No need for broad snooping powers on absolutely everyone.

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