K2 Integrity’s Post

Europol published the annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) report on 22 July 2024. Key takeaways for me included the following: 🔴 Millions of victims are attacked and exploited online across the EU daily. 🔷 Adult victims continue to fall for phishing campaigns, business email compromise, plus #investmentfraud and #romancefraud. 🔶 Cybercrime offenders tend to be younger, due to their advanced digital skills and limited understanding of the consequences of their actions. 🔴 Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted cybercrime is developing at pace. AI-assisted child sexual abuse material (#CSAM) presents a growing threat (this can be AI-altered or wholly AI-generated). Law enforcement bodies are struggling to establish the real identity of both victims and offenders. 🔷 Ransomware groups are increasingly targeting small and medium-sized businesses, due to lower cyber defences. 🔶 E-merchants and banking institutions are the targets of choice for digital skimming attacks.  🔴 The use of #cryptocurrencies in criminal activity is becoming more evident. Underground banking for laundering crypto assets is on the rise, and cryptocurrency investment fraud shows no signs of decreasing. ✔ On a positive note, the report highlights several worldwide law enforcement actions that should be commended, including the disruption of cybercriminals’ digital infrastructures, and co-ordinated arrests of ransomware affiliates and operators. Europol is also deploying a “Cyber Offender Prevention” strategy to educate cybercriminals about the implications of this activity. 🔵 A real-life example of multi-agency activity in this space was reported this week, whereby the NCA, FBI and Police Service of Northern Ireland infiltrated and disabled Digital Stress, a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) service that attacked tens of thousands websites per week. Well done to all involved (link to article is in the comments). Whilst the Labour Party referenced #cyberattacks within their manifesto, and promised a Strategic Defence Review, it’s unclear how they plan to tackle #cybercrime outside national security considerations. If anyone has any insights on this, I’d love to hear them. https://lnkd.in/dFNGsGiw

Europol has just released the 10th edition of the Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), a highly authoritative report that provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving cybercrime landscape. This year's report highlights critical trends in cyber-attacks, online fraud, and the increasing use of AI and cryptocurrencies in criminal activities. Key insights include: - Recent law enforcement operations have prompted ransomware groups to splinter and rebrand under different disguises - The continuous takedowns of forums and marketplaces on the dark web have shortened the lifecycle of criminal sites - Ransomware groups increasingly target small and medium-sized businesses because they have lower cyber defences - Users continue to fall victim to phishing campaigns, business email compromise (BEC), investment and romance fraud - Offenders appear to be underage in many cases, and some have started leveraging AI, which is already becoming a component in their toolbox - The use of cryptocurrencies in a wider variety of crime areas has also become more noticeable - Mainstream end-to-end encryption (E2EE) communication platforms are increasingly used by offenders - The use of cryptocurrencies in a number of areas of crime has become more evident Stay informed and ahead of cyber threats by reading the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dQTV2Je6 #CyberSecurity #CyberCrime #Europol #IOCTA2024 #AI #Cryptocurrency #CyberThreats #threatintel #cti

Europol have published their 10th edition of the annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). There are no new developments, same crimes, however an increasing trend. Law enforcement have got more effective at takedowns and arrests, which has lead to fragmentation and rebranding of groups, and new forums arising as old ones are seized. From the Europol press release. "The Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) is Europol’s assessment of evolving threats and trends in the cybercrime landscape, with a focus on how it has changed over the last 12 months. This year's report highlights relevant trends in crime areas such cyber-attacks, child sexual exploitation and online and payment fraud schemes. Recent law enforcement operations have prompted ransomware groups to splinter and rebrand under different guises. Furthermore, continuous takedowns of forums and marketplaces on the dark web have shortened the lifecycle of criminal sites. This instability, combined with the surge of exist scams, has contributed to the fragmentation and multiplication of cyber threats. " https://lnkd.in/eiadFKqu

An *outstanding* report by the IOCTA. Helping protect our day-to-day routine. The Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) this year's report highlights relevant trends in crime areas such as cyber-attacks, child sexual exploitation, and online and payment fraud schemes. Recent law enforcement operations have prompted ransomware groups to splinter and rebrand under different guises. Furthermore, continuous takedowns of forums and marketplaces on the dark web have shortened the lifecycle of criminal sites. This instability, combined with the surge of existing scams, has contributed to the fragmentation and multiplication of cyber threats. Thank you @Catherine De Bolle and the team #Europol #Cybercrime #ransomware #darkweb https://lnkd.in/gxAVYepj

Top #cybercrime investigation and #cyberlaw events of the 1st week of June: 1. Spain's most wanted cybercriminal arrested in Romania 2. Former top managers convicted of selling data on millions of Americans to fraudsters 3. Four arrested for aiding wanted cybercriminals bypass Interpol’s Red Notice system 4. ATM skimmer extradited to Puerto Rico to face charges of identity theft and bank fraud 5. Europol cracks down on money mule service providers laundering over 10M euros https://lnkd.in/gAaJrv5W #technology #law #justice #lawenforcement #cybersecurity

The Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) is a comprehensive report providing a law enforcement-focused analysis of the latest cyber threats and their impact within the European Union (EU). Cybercrime poses a growing threat to the EU, spanning various forms such as cyber-attacks, online child sexual exploitation, and frauds, causing significant harm to individuals, organizations, and the economy. The year 2022 witnessed a shift from the focus on the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, shedding light on political divides within the cybercriminal underground. The conflict led to cyber disruptions globally, particularly in the EU, with politically motivated Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against public institutions in response to actions supporting Ukraine. Exploiting crises, cybercriminals swiftly adapted by launching online fraud schemes related to the conflict in Ukraine. They created fake webpages, sent deceptive emails, and impersonated celebrities or humanitarian organizations to solicit donations, exploiting people's goodwill. Online child sexual exploitation continued to increase in severity and quantity, with offenders utilizing privacy services to mask their identities and actions, evading detection. The cybercrime landscape relies heavily on interlinked services provided by illicit entities. These include initial access brokers, dropper-services, malware developers, counter antivirus services, VPNs, and bulletproof hosting. These services are offered on criminal markets and forums to support various cybercriminal activities, from ransomware attacks to online fraud. Cybercriminals commonly employ phishing, social engineering, and impersonation techniques to breach systems and defraud victims. These methods are extensively used across different cybercrime activities, including fraud schemes and malware-based attacks. The core commodity in this criminal economy is stolen data, bought and produced through various cyber-attacks. Ransomware groups, fraudsters, and hackers seek this data for exploitation, with criminal markets thriving on stolen credentials and victim information. Dark web forums play a crucial role in cybercrime, facilitating communication, recruitment, and knowledge-sharing among cybercriminals. They serve as hubs for criminal services and operational security guidelines. Cybercriminals launder their illicit profits using various methods, predominantly involving cryptocurrencies, mixers, swappers, and money mules. The laundering process, often multi-layered and global in scope, poses challenges for law enforcement investigations. Overall, the report underscores the complex and evolving nature of cybercrime, highlighting the interconnectedness of various criminal activities, the exploitation of global events, and the challenges faced by law enforcement in countering these threats. #cybercrime #fincrime

👾 Europol has recently released a report titled "Online fraud schemes: a web of deceit", updated as of December 19, 2023. This document is part of the #IOCTA 2023 series and focuses on online #fraud schemes, a significant criminal threat in the European Union and globally. The report delves into online fraud schemes, encompassing a wide range of criminal activities primarily or exclusively conducted via the internet or computer systems. The fraudulent practices outlined in the report generate billions in #illicitprofits annually, adversely affecting individuals, businesses, and public institutions. This publication is the second in the series of "Spotlight Reports" released by Europol under the IOCTA 2023 project, which examines emerging trends in various #cybercrime areas, including #cyberattacks and child sexual exploitation. #aml #compliance #moneylaundering #antimoneylaundering

A global police operation across 61 countries seized $257 million in assets and disrupted transnational organized crime networks involved in online scams like phishing, investment fraud, fake e-commerce sites, and identity theft scams. The operation led to the arrest of 3,950 suspects while also recovering millions of dollars stolen from victims through various scams. #interpol #fraudawareness #fraudprevention https://lnkd.in/dkje_C-x

🙌 Celebrate the wins! Collaborative #cybercrime investigation efforts take down fraud infrastructure! As off the shelf tooling enables nontechnical groups to engage in industrial scale cybercrime, it’s great to see defenders attacking that supply chain. 💯 👇 “The gang's activities were discovered in 2022 by the Cyber Defence Alliance, a small team of investigators funded by UK financial bodies to infiltrate criminal networks on the dark web. An alliance official said: ‘Unless we build a network to defeat a criminal network, we are going to be overwhelmed.’ This investigation is an example of a new approach involving police, the National Crime Agency and banking security experts to target criminals offering services to other criminals.” Also love seeing behavioral psychology being applied (finally)!! Investigators “seized the email addresses of 800 criminals paying up to £300 a month to use the LabHost service…they will be sent personalised videos making clear police know who they are and what they have been doing…which follows advice from behavioural psychologists…to undermine criminal confidence in the security of scam services.” ———— 💯 human written ✅ I verify I’ve read all linked content

Interpol recently reported that "Operation First Light," a global police operation with 61 participating countries, delivered a financial blow to online scam networks by freezing 6,745 bank accounts, seizing assets totaling USD 257 million, and disrupting the transnational organized crime networks involved. The operation targeted phishing, investment fraud, fake online shopping sites, romance and impersonation scams.* G2RS' Transaction Laundering Detection (TLD) helps you keep fraudsters out of your portfolio. For more information about our TLD solution, click here: https://lnkd.in/eMwV-Ta8 To learn more about how we can help, contact us: https://lnkd.in/e6GXQA4a #g2risksolutions #g2rs #riskmanagement #transactionlaundering #payments #compliance #scams #fraud Source: * https://lnkd.in/dkje_C-x