Telegram is now the main place for hackers to buy and sell new threats

If you’re looking to buy or sell phishing kits, looking to learn more about how phishing works, or just looking to enter the fray on a voluntary basis, your best bet is to go exploring on Telegram groups. 

This is according to a new report from cybersecurity researchers Kaspersky, which claims the popular encrypted instant messaging platform has become quite the breeding ground for this particular cohort of cybercriminals.

The researchers say that right at this moment, one can find Telegram groups where hackers are offering free phishing kits paired with pre-packaged tools that allow new entrants to create phishing pages and pose as popular brands. There are also groups where free phishing kit contents are being shared, as well as automated phishing page creation. Also, a cybercrime aficionado could head over to Telegram and find premium pages with customizable interfaces, anti-bot systems, geoblocking, URL encryption, and social engineering elements. However, for these premium services, one can expect to pay between $10 and $300.

Buying stolen goods

It doesn’t end there, though, as hackers are also using Telegram to sell stolen sensitive data (personal information or banking details), offer phishing-as-a-service subscriptions, and one-time password bots.

Kaspersky also uncovered an interesting detail on Ransomware-as-a-Service encryptors: the kit encrypts the stolen data even for the operators, as a safeguard measure to make sure the ransomware’s creators get their share. In other words, even ransomware (opens in new tab) operators are being held for ransom, for the data they’ve stolen.

Phishing is currently one of the most popular cybercriminal activities out there, second only to Business Email Compromise (which in itself is a form of phishing) and ransomware. 

A recent Cofense report stated that there has been a 569% increase in phishing attacks in 2022, compared to the year before. Reports related to credential phishing were up 478% last year, as well.

Via: BleepingComputer (opens in new tab)