Tag: World market link

Researchers Spot New Cryptocurrency Stealing Malware Advertised Under a Subscription Model

A cryptocurrency-related malware program has been advertised on world market darknet forums as the “leading way to make money in 2021,” raising alarms among the cybersecurity community. Palo Alto Networks published a report on the malicious app Westeal that outlines the program’s connection to other kinds of malware that steals major streaming services accounts.

Westeal Claims to Be Immune Against Major Antivirus Software

According to the security firm that handles cybersecurity, “Westeal” is an improvement of “Wesupply Crypto Stealer,” another malicious crypto software which has been available from May to the end of 2020. Findings suggest that Wesupply’s evolution was advertised in February 2021.

The study points out that Westeal was created to take Bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) being taken in or out of the wallets of victims by using their clipboard.

Furthermore, those who download the malicious application gain access to a web panel that handles all operations that are required, including the “victim tracker panel.”

One aspect that is causing concern from Palo Alto Networks is the fact that Westeal appears to be immune to antivirus software that is a major component.

The malware runs on subscription-based models, and “Complexcodes,” the anon developer of the application earns money by charging 20 euros ($24) monthly and 50 euro ($60) for three months and the 125 euros ($150) per year.

The Malware Is a ‘Shameless’ Crypto Stealer, Researchers Say

The cybersecurity firm offers more details on the threat:

“In order to “steal” cryptocurrency from a victim, Westeal uses regular expressions to look for strings matching the patterns of bitcoin and ethereum wallet identifiers being copied to the clipboard. When it matches these, it replaces the copied wallet ID in the clipboard with one supplied by the malware. The victim then pastes the substituted wallet ID for a transaction, and the funds are sent instead to the substitute wallet.”

Still, Palo Alto Networks qualifies Westeal as a “shameless” malware:

“Westeal is a shameless piece of commodity malware with a single, illicit function. Its simplicity is matched by a likely simple effectiveness in the theft of cryptocurrency. The low-sophistication actors who purchase and deploy this malware are thieves, no less so than street pickpockets. Their crimes are as real as their victims. The fast and simple monetization chain and anonymity of cryptocurrency theft, together with the low cost and simplicity of operation, will undoubtedly make this type of crimeware attractive and popular to less-skilled thieves.”

Administrators of the most popular English speaking forum in TOR1 started a new project to combat Darknet criminals. The 2nd of March was the day they announced a brand new R. searching engine (something like Google) which allows users to look for illicit goods from several Darknet Markets at once. As a result, illicit information will be more difficult to locate for any cybercriminal.

A brief introduction for Darknet novices: The Darknet isn’t the same as the web. There’s no main page , like Google or Bing that lets you browse the entire darknet. To access any website, you must to know the exact link or address. There are forums available to assist you in your search on the dark net but in order to use them , you have to be aware they exist in the first place. That’s why there’s been efforts to develop an official search engine in order to facilitate the research of illegal activities. Of course, comparing Google to R. search engines is a huge simplification. With Google, we can search almost the whole Clearnet while with R. search we can investigate just darknet trading (DNM) with TOR, and not all of them.

It’s almost like Google

The idea of a Darknet Market (DNM) search engine to browse the various offers available from stores is not new. The only thing that is different are the people behind it. It’s a group consisting of moderators and administrators from “D. forum” The largest discussion forum in the English area of TOR which was established in February of 2018 as a response to the further blocking of Darknet related topics on Reddit. D. became one of the most important informational hubs on TOR. Therefore, whenever you want to find opinions on DNM and specific DNM vendors, innovative methods of fraud, or do not know where to purchase something, that forum is the first place for a lot of Darknet users visit. Also, it is a must for those who chase after tutorials about what to do to prevent fraud the latest services on DNM as well as the latest news on the Darknet or anything else related with it, whether it’s frauds and drugs, as well as any other illegal activities. In this forum, there are numerous sections, that are all about illegal act such as Fraud Carding, Fraud, Fraud Resources, Counterfeiting, Dark Markets, Fake ID Fake Money, LSD, Drug Manufacture, Malware, Hacking and so on.

Each big DNM and every type of drug and fraud has its own section. There are also sections for certain countries, currencies and the most popular TOR websites. Only pedophiliaand pro-terrorism, weapons, poisons and other related to them are not allowed. Other than that, it’s all-inclusive freedom of expression.

The founders of the D. Forum are already one of the most influential vendors in the English speaking part of TOR and are well-known. This is why the launch of R. search could offer the forum a new purpose. To underscore the relationship between the well-respected forum, R. search requires users to log in from D. Forum to sign up on R. search. This is required even in the event that you are an DNM vendor who wants to update your details within R. search. There is no given information whether the R. the search engine stores information about users searches and their preferences. We all know that Google uses search history to track internet users. What do you think if the D. team can create the same feature and then determine which users are most interested in which type of illegal stuff? There are many options for getting more information about Darknet users who prefer to stay anonymous.

The appearance is R. search

R. search looks very beautiful (in contrast against other Darknet websites) and is easy to use. It offers basic filters such as prices that are minimum and maximum as well as shipping countries, Darknet Markets. At the time of writing the article R. Search engine found 23,7 thousand vendors the number of listings was 61 thousand (that’s what we call offers on DNM) and 1,3 million reviews submitted by DNM users. At present, R. search contains just 6 active DNM and archive information about DNM that are already gone. It is crucial to know how new DNMs are added, and the person who decides. D. Forum team members want to create a database with only the most reliable DNM suppliers, free of fraud. Of course, it’s their own choice as to which DNM are reliable enough to be included in the database and which are not. Because of this the importance of the group’s position in the Darknet information network is becoming more and more significant.

One important aspect is that R. search has in its database archived data from shut DNMs. Marketplaces in the Darknet rise and fall, and sellers often need to relocate from one place to another. The world market link statistics of their vendors are not always available in the new place and buyers must rely on the words of vendors that they are reliable, trustworthy, etc. Because of R. search buyers are able to check the reputations of vendors from the previous DNMs. R. search has a very intriguing kind of search engine that you can find vendors by their PGP fingerprints or their public PGP Key2. Thanks to that, when somebody claims he is Mr. X and he had outstanding scores on DNM’s that are now dead, you can check whether Mr. X on these dead DNM had the identical PGP Key. PGP Key is the primary way for Darknet users to authenticate themselves.

Darknet Update: Hydra Reigns, Monero Acceptance Climbs, Russian State Collusion Questioned

At the end of 2020 darknet markets (DNM) have set new records , as markets like White House and the Russian-language DNM Hydra led the pack. The report, released on May 25 shows Hydra recorded an increase of 624% over the year in just three years and researchers estimate roughly 75% of illegal DNM transactions come from the Russian market. Furthermore, the privacy-focused coin monero is experiencing more vendor acceptance on DNMs these days. On the 29th of June monero captured 84% of the vendor’s acceptance on three of the top marketplaces.

The Complex Russian Darknet Market Hydra Eclipses 26 Marketplaces

While cryptocurrency markets are down in value, the use of darknet markets has continued to rise. DNMs have managed to stay lucrative throughout Covid-19 and stats indicated that while the world market url; http://kala.eclectek.com, was in lockdown, DNM use was on the rise.

A number of DNMs are operating today, as reports and data show that the two biggest darknet marketplaces comprise Hydra and White House Market. Other notable DNMs during the second half of 2021 are World Market Darknet, Cannazon, Cannahome, Torrez Market, Dark0de Reborn Market, Vice City, Aurora, and the Majestic Garden.

At the end of May, the blockchain forensics companies Chainalysis as well as Flashpoint threat intelligence released the report, which takes a deep dive into the rise of Hydra. The report, which is titled “Hydra: Where Cryptocurrency Roads All Lead to Russia and Go Dark,” provides an explanation of the ways in which Hydra administrators impose strict rules for sellers who are using the DNM.

Despite the strict rules of Hydra, the report highlights the fact that Hydra is always profitable. Furthermore, vendor withdrawals can be directed through Russian exchanges as well as service operators as the report describes. The Flashpoint along with the Chainalysis report also states:

“Hydra market activity has skyrocketed since its inception, with annual transaction volumes growing from a total of $9.40 million in 2016 to north of $1.37 billion by the end of 2020. Observed through blockchain analysis, we see a staggering 624% year-over-year growth rate for Hydra in its three most recent years 2018 to 2020.”

Monero Acceptance on Darknet Markets Continues to Rise

Darknet tracker data , provided by the blockchain analytics firm 1000x Group indicates there are around 27 DNMs operating today. Nine of them accept BTC only five markets take BTC as well as a range of coins eleven markets are accepting BTC in addition to monero (XMR), and two markets only accept XMR. Bitcoin market only include Darkfox, Hydra, Vice City, Aurora, Majestic Garden, Neptune, Mega, Global Dreams, and Flugsvamp 3.0. While, markets that specialize in monero are limited to White House Market and Archetyp Market.

One of the best markets like Hydra, White House Market (WHM) also has strict rules , and monero (XMR) only acceptance is one of the rules. WHM has 2FA requirements and the use of PGP as well as the fact that the site frequently suffers from DDOS attacks over the many years. The DNM includes hundreds of vendors, and claims to have more than a million users in 2021. WHM picked up a huge number of vendors and customers following the demise of Dream Market and there’s more than 50,000 products listed today. The DNM White House Market is also earns a 4% commission for everything that is sold on the deep web site.

The statistics show that monero (XMR) has seen significant growth in vendor acceptance on three specific completely operational DNMs. Although BTC is still the most popular choice for DNMs, XMR commands an impressive amount of approval on these markets. DNM tracker data indicates that during the last two weeks of May XMR market acceptance was at or above 50%.

For the first two weeks in June monero witnessed a decrease under the handle of 50% and saw a peak of 37.60% by June 8. However, monero’s vendor acceptance climbed to 84% on June 29 and has been in the 50% area ever since. In the event that monero saw a low in mid-June, there was higher proportion of the litecoin (LTC) vendors accepting the currency at that time. The vendor acceptance rate tracks the level of vendor acceptance in Versus Market, Cannahome, and Cannazon.

Does Hydra Have a Semi-Official Sanction from Russian Leaders?

As Hydra has grown to become one of the biggest DNMs around the world, following its success in beating the old Russian DNM Ramp, Joe Biden’s administration is particularly concerned about Russia’s involvement in these kinds of actors. Biden has been speaking about Russia in the media and has urged Russia to combat cyber threats , such as ransomware.

Following the Colonial Pipeline attack and the Kaseya breach, Biden told the press that he spoke to Russian President Vladmir Putin on Friday. Biden declared that he had told Putin he must “take action” against these cyber-criminals.

“I made it very clear to [Vladmir Putin] that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil even though it’s not sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is,” Biden stated this week.

This ransomware threat is one issue however Bloomberg writer Leonid Bershidsky believes there’s a possibility that Hydra is under some sort that has a “semi-official sanction” from Russian authorities. Bershidsky notes in a recent article the fact that Russian’s “Hydra, its krysha, or protection, is the elephant in the room.” The writer explains that Putin has no motive to stop DNMs and he also thinks that “retaliatory action from the U.S. isn’t compelling enough.” Bershidsky’s opinion editorial concludes:

“As things stand, Putin can let the likes of Hydra worry about that prospect. And if they are crushed, others can take their place. The dark web is nothing if not resilient.”