Tag Archives: underground

Fake news for sale

A ground-breaking new study from Trend Micro has revealed for the first time the size and maturity of the online fake news business, where a 12-month campaign to influence the result of an election could cost as little as €357.700.

The comprehensive 77-page report breaks down the key steps used to influence public opinion: from reconnaissance of the target audience and weaponisation – preparation of the fake story – to delivery and exploitation via social media, and sustainment with additional propaganda. Continue reading →

The French Dark Underground: the craziest products for sale

All crime reflects the culture that it happens in. What is perfectly legal in one country can be a serious crime in another. What makes the difference, generally, is the different cultures in those counties. Cultural reflections in crime are something you see in online crime as well.

While there are some things that are universal to online crime around the globe (like malware), a lot of online crime reflects the culture just like real-world crime does. This is a theme that has emerged over the past three years in our ongoing investigations into the different countries’ markets that make up the global Cybercrime Underground Economy. We’ve just released our latest report in that series, focusing on France, a new addition to our country roster. Continue reading →

Heard it on the radio? :-) Your ID is just worth 700 euro in the Dark Web!

wp_below_the_surface_th It has been a quite interesting week for me. Believe it or not, I don’t get the opportunity to speak on two national (Radio 1 and BNR) radio broadcasting channels every week. The reason for this sudden interest? Trend Micro’s research on identity theft and the Deep Web, which made quite an impression. So of course I want to share this with our loyal audience as well. Continue reading →