Cyber criminals flood dark web with 40,000 posts selling stolen data

ISLAMABAD: Cyber criminals have inundated the dark web with around 40,000 posts over the past two years, aiming to sell stolen data from various companies, as revealed in a report by the renowned cybersecurity company Kaspersky.

Kaspersky’s Digital Footprint Intelligence team unveiled this alarming trend, indicating a surge in dark web posts related to the sale, purchase, and distribution of internal corporate information. These posts serve as platforms for cybercriminals to engage in illicit transactions involving data pilfered through cyberattacks.

The observed dark web messages averaged at 1,731 per month, totaling close to 40,000 messages between January 2022 and November 2023. These messages spanned dark web forums, blogs, and shadow Telegram channels.

A distinct category of data available on the dark web pertains to access to corporate infrastructures. Cybercriminals actively advertise offers allowing the purchase of pre-existing access to a company, streamlining attackers’ efforts. Kaspersky’s research noted over 6,000 dark web messages advertising such access offers in the period from January 2022 to November 2023. The average monthly messages increased by 16%, from 246 in 2022 to 286 in 2023.

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In a bid to bolster global business security, Kaspersky’s Digital Footprint Intelligence experts monitored mentions of 700 random companies linked to compromised corporate data in 2022. The findings indicated that 233 organizations, equivalent to one in three companies, were mentioned in dark web posts related to the illicit exchange of data.

Highlighting the precarious data protection situation, especially in Pakistan, where no data protection laws are currently in place, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom’s spokesperson, Junaid Imam, commented on Kaspersky’s research. He stated that a comprehensive data protection law has been prepared after extensive consultation, having received approval in principle from the federal cabinet twice. However, due to parliamentary challenges, the law awaits submission once the new parliament is formed.