Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Trend Micro began researching the Russian Underground in 2004. Since then, the Underground has become more professional and sophisticated, mirroring legitimate trends in supply chain management, outsourcing and customer service support.
Through the Deep Web, which consists of hidden markets used for trading illicit goods, services and information online, Russian cyber criminals have demonstrated an uncanny ability to leverage Internet technology to create "exploit kits, bulletproof web hosting VPN services, custom-created malware, and pay-per install (PPI) services," the report stated.
Researchers also noted declining prices in many of the Russian Underground's top-selling black market brands. "Estimating the precise scale of the Underground business is tricky," the report stated. "Statistics on Underground economies are inherently speculative – the Underground doesn't make annual disclosures or let auditors go over their books, which basically leaves us with back-of-the-envelope explorations." However, the report also pointed out that as technology improves, "market forces bring prices for goods and services down over time."
Cyber criminals are achieving economies of scale by using emerging technologies to innovate, solve complex problems and differentiate within an increasingly competitive playing field. These digital technologies have also enabled criminals to perpetrate massive crimes of unprecedented proportions.
Researchers noted that the Russian Underground is using the following methodologies commit organized widespread attacks around the world:
"As incredible as the Target hack was for its size and scope, just over a year later in August 2014, that number was surpassed by a Russian hacking group that gathered 1.2 billion user names, passwords, and other confidential data from 420,000 Web sites, according to Hold Security," wrote author Marc Goodman in Future Crimes: Everything is Connected, Everyone is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It.
Goodman, who has two decades of experience in the global security field, encourages consumers and business owners to be especially vigilant and responsive to unusual activities on the Internet, believing that government and private-sector cooperation can help protect critical infrastructure. He also believes good people outnumber the bad. "Crime Inc. is well versed in crowdsourcing, capable of mobilizing mobs of thousands, as we saw with the massive 2013 ATM cyber attack in which thieves carried out thirty-six thousand in-person transactions in ten hours in twenty-seven countries, pocketing a cool $45 million," he wrote.
In addition, Trend Micro noted that the Russian Underground is increasingly targeting mobile devices and home routers. Leading companies in the space are providing language translation services and customer support for fledgling perpetrators of cyber crime.
Researchers also noted that Russian cybercriminals are even in sync with Vladimir Putin, supporting his mandates across Russia and in the troubled region of the Ukraine. Trend Micro researchers have observed Russian Underground agents supporting Russian militia in Eastern Ukraine.
For more information or to read the full report, visit www.trendmicro.co.uk/media/wp/russian-underground-2-0-wp-en.pdf .
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