Search This Blog
Powered by Blogger.

Blog Archive

Labels

Load More
Trendy Right Now

Popular Posts

Showing posts with label Illegal Activity. Show all posts
Narco Gangs
Cyber Crime Dark Web Delhi Crime Drug Trafficking Illegal Activity Law Enforcement Narco Gangs

Dark Web Narco Gangs are a Major Concern for Law Enforcement

 

The dark web has developed into a centre for criminal activity in recent years, including human trafficking, cybercrime, and drug trafficking. And now, sources claim that Delhi is quickly becoming a hub for dark web syndicates. 

Multiple criminal organisations are allegedly operating illegally in Delhi, taking advantage of the dark web's anonymity. Law enforcement agencies have a difficult time locating these groups because they use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to conduct anonymous transactions. 

Drug trafficking, the smuggling of weapons, and money laundering are some of the most popular illicit acts carried out by these syndicates.
 
“To combat this growing trend, the Delhi Police have formed a special team of the Cyber Cell to monitor the activities of dark web syndicates. The team is working with other law enforcement agencies to track down and apprehend those involved in these illegal activities,” a senior police official stated.

“In recent months, the police have also carried out a number of successful operations against dark web syndicates. In one operation, they were able to arrest a group of individuals who were involved in selling drugs on the dark web. The police seized a large quantity of drugs and other illegal items during the raid,” the official added. 

Seven people, including an IIM dropout, a BBA student, and a fashion designer, were detained by Delhi Police in September of last year for procuring illegal drugs like LSD, MDMA, and marijuana from abroad and distributing them via courier services to college students throughout the Delhi-National Capital Region, according to officials. 

Separate arrests were made after police investigated tips, narrowed down the suspects, and recovered 220 g of hashish, 84 g of selected marijuana, 12.6 g of MDMA, 28 blotting papers of LSD, and 12.6 g of MDMA. 

Moreover, drug trafficking organisations utilise the dark web to smuggle substances including hash, opium, marijuana, and ayurvedic opium-containing tablets like Kamini Vidrawan Ras and Barshasa to western nations. 

The official explained that "transactions are typically performed through cryptocurrencies, after dealers are contacted through VPN [virtual private network]". 

According to a dark net user who spoke with IANS, the "Onion domain"—for instance, xyz.onion instead of.com,.in, or.au, etc.—on ToR, which does not require a user registration like other domains, is increasingly being utilised for drug dealing.

"A hash key is generated when registering an Onion URL for hosting a user's website. The concerned website's URL is then input, and a network is created between the buyer and seller," the official added, noting that one can search the dark web website on some search engines, blogs, websites, and even through Telegram and WhatsApp groups. 

By featuring them on Instagram, Telegram, and Skype for engagement, the syndicates entice clients with adverts that resemble a restaurant menu.

The expansion of dark web syndicates in Delhi continues to be of great concern. The usage of cryptocurrency makes it much more challenging to track the transactions, and the anonymity of the dark web makes it challenging for law enforcement organisations to find people engaging in unlawful activity.
Read more »
User Security
Crypto Crime Crypto Theft Cyber Crime Data Theft Illegal Activity User Security

Evaluation by Chainalysis Declare 2022 to be "The Year of Crypto Thefts"

 

A recent Chainalysis analysis stated that ransomware and fraud increased cryptocurrency theft last year. "The 2023 Crypto Crime Report" was published by Chainalysis. The paper also discussed the reasons why 2022 established records for cryptocurrency hacking and the effects of sanctions against Hydra, Tornado Cash, and other companies on cryptocurrency crime. In addition, case studies on the greatest hacks, darknet markets, and ransomware variants of the year were included in the paper. 

Rise in crypto crime

Chainalysis is a well-known blockchain data platform that serves more than 70 nations' worth of exchanges, financial institutions, insurance organisations, and cybersecurity firms with data, software, services, and research.

The 2022 instability on the cryptocurrency markets was addressed in the 2023 crypto crime report. The paper also highlighted the most recent methods used by fraudsters for laundering money using cryptocurrencies. 

For cryptocurrency criminals, 2017 was a good year. Over $3.8 billion, more than any other year, was stolen from various services and processes, with $775.7 million of that total occurring in just one month, according to Chainalysis. The research also claims that fraudsters' and ransomware hackers' overall revenue decreased.

As stated in the papers, DeFi methods accounted for 82.1% of the stolen money. "In particular, cross-chain bridges, which are protocols that let users exchange assets between two separate blockchains."

"Bridges are an enticing target for hackers as the smart contracts in effect become massive, centralised warehouses of monies backing the assets that have been crossed to the new chain – a more desirable honeypot could barely be imagined," the paper states. 

Oracle manipulation, according to Chainalysis, is a growing trend in DeFi hacks. This is when an attacker subverts the mechanisms used by a decentralised protocol to determine the price of traded assets and establishes favourable conditions for quick and extremely profitable trades.

DeFi protocols lost $386.2 million in 2022 as a result of 41 different oracle manipulation attacks. A case in point is the Mango Markets exploit, which led to the arrest of the suspected attacker, Avraham Eisenberg, who is now accused of manipulating commodities in a US court. 

The Lazarus squad of North Korean hackers surpassed their previous record in 2022, stealing $1.7 billion from numerous victims. The majority of that money was sent to decentralised exchanges and a number of mixers, including Tornado Cash, Blender(dot)io, and Sinbad after Blender was shut down. 

The Russian darknet marketplace Hydra, the exchange Garantex, the cryptocurrency mixers Blender(dot)io, and Tornado Cash were all sanctioned by the United States last year. However, not all of the money processed by these sanctioned services had criminal origins; according to the Chainalysis analysis, just 6.1% of the money Garantex received and 34% of the money received by Tornado Cash came from illegal sources. 

Sanctions, as stated by Chainalysis, significantly reduced the amount of money that could enter Tornado Cash, however, Garantex continued to operate as usual and reported an increase in receiving funds from recognised darknet and fraud sites.
Read more »
Security
Canada CRTC Cyber Laws Cyber Security Dark Web Fine Illegal Activity Mallicious Ads Scam Security

CRTC Inquiry Targets Dark Web Marketplace Sellers and Administrator

 

Four Canadians have been fined a total of $300,000 by the CRTC's Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer for their engagement in the Dark Web marketplace Canadian HeadQuarters (also known as CanadianHQ). Following the execution of warrants by CRTC employees, the marketplace was taken offline. 

CanadianHQ was one of the largest Dark Web marketplaces in the world before it was closed down, and it played a pivotal role in damaging cyber operations in Canada. It specializes in the selling of spamming services, phishing kits, stolen passwords, and accessibility to infected systems, which were utilized by buyers to carry out a variety of malicious activities. 

The CRTC's inquiry centered on four people who reportedly sent emails that looked like they came from well-known companies in order to gain personal information like credit card numbers and banking information. 

The following people have been fined for violating Canada's anti-spam legislation (CASL) by sending commercial electronic messages without consent: 

• $150,000 Chris Tyrone Dracos (a.k.a. Poseidon) 
• $50,000 Marc Anthony Younes (a.k.a. CASHOUT00 and Masteratm) 
• $50,000 - Souial Amarak (a.k.a. Wealtyman and Supreme) 
• $50,000 Moustapha Sabir (a.k.a. La3sa) 

Mr. Dracos faces a harsher sentence as the marketplace's inventor and administrator for allegedly assisting in the execution of multiple CASL violations by the platform's suppliers and customers. Several other suppliers have been uncovered as part of this investigation, and enforcement measures will be taken against them in the near future, as per the sources. The Spam Reporting Centre encourages Canadians to report spam, phishing, and other suspicious practices. 

Steven Harroun, Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer, CRTC stated, “Some Canadians are being drawn into malicious cyber activity, lured by the potential for easy money and social recognition among their peers. This case shows that anonymity is not absolute online and there are real-world consequences when engaging in these activities. 

“Canadian Headquarters was one of the most complex cases our team has tackled since CASL came into force. I would like to thank the cyber-security firm Flare Systems, the Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP’s National Division for their invaluable assistance. Our team is committed to investigating CASL non-compliance on all fronts.”
Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)