Registration with cyber guerrillas
Information security expert Oleg Sedov told socialbites.ca that in 2022, a new threat to children and adolescents appeared on the network. We are talking about political employment for attacks on computer systems in Russia and other countries.
“Earlier, when we talked about the motives of the attackers on the network, we implied that the scammers were after some kind of monetization from their activities. Now, plans for recruiting users to the botnet for political reasons are coming to the fore,” Sedov explained.
“If earlier it was necessary to hack and infect the victim’s device with appropriate software to expand the botnet, now you can find offers to become a cyber guerrilla on the network commercially and even for free.” said the security expert.
Such offers are actively spread on social networks and among young people, especially through the accounts of hacked friends. There are also targeted messages for active users who clearly articulate their location.
The attackers are playing with the desire of young users to show their citizenship after launching a special operation in Ukraine.
“After the teen accepts, he is offered a special software download that connects his device to the botnet and allows him to join the botnet to attack ‘enemy’ resources. The terms and quantities of the offers can be very different,” he said.
But according to Sedov, there is no guarantee that a cyberattack will be directed exactly at the “opponent’s” resources.
“The nuance is that the user does not know exactly which resources were attacked. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the owner of the botnet will not use the network to implement any criminal scenario at his discretion, without informing any of the volunteer participants. At the same time, responsibility to those who voluntarily decide to participate in it, even moral responsibility will remain, ”explained Sedov.
Game love disappointed
According to Group-IB Education Projects Chief Specialist Polina Fomina, in addition to the “classic” cyber threats, fake payment systems have recently spread on the network to pay for online purchases.
“They can pose a danger to minors because of their love of games. We are talking about offers to replenish Steam wallets [площадка для дистрибуции игр. — «Газета.Ru»]. On the Internet you can come across fake sites that allegedly allow the user to transfer money to the wallet of online stores in order to further purchase their favorite video game. But in reality all the funds go into the pockets of cybercriminals.”
The attacker can also pretend to reside in a country where they have access to their Steam wallet and offer their services to renew it. As a result, the victim transfers money to the scammer and disappears with them.
“Furthermore, the difficulties of paying on Apple Store and iTunes services have led attackers to come up with new schemes to steal money, bank card data and AppleID credentials. For example, now scammers are actively offering users to replenish their accounts in the Apple Store and iTunes using special virtual cards up to 6,000 rubles, ”Fomina said.
Scammers claim that App Store and iTunes Gift Cards allow you to fund your account and purchase “any virtual content in the Apple store in Russia”.
To purchase the code, you just need to enter your email and enter your bank card details when paying. However, since the payment method is phishing, all data and money will fall into the pockets of the attackers.
Trojan flood
“Traditional” cyber threats such as malware are no less common on the network.
“We do not exclude that although some popular games and gaming platforms have become unavailable in Russia, children will actively try to find their favorite game or cartoon on the Internet that can be used by attackers,” Kaspersky said. Andrey Sideenko, head of the laboratory’s children’s online safety.
For example, along with a game or movie torrent, a victim could get a virus that encrypts all user data and then demand a ransom for them. There may also be a program that secretly mines cryptocurrencies on the user’s device.
network strength
Sydenko said that online grooming can be called one of the most dangerous threats online for minors. This is an attempt to build a trusting relationship with a child, for example, to obtain private photos or videos of him for blackmail.
“The problem is that children often do not perceive the Internet as a dangerous place. For example, they calmly add strangers to their “friends” on social networks and are even ready to meet them in real life,” said Sydenko.
According to a survey by Kaspersky Lab, 82% of children receive friend requests from strangers, 29% of cases are foreigners. At the same time, 37% of children meet people they later meet online in real life.
“Often, the story begins as a secret communication in a conversation: a man writes to a girl several years older than him, begins to meet a boy his age. After establishing a trusting relationship through correspondence, the attacker “gets down to business” – turning the conversation into sex, sharing candid photos and asking the victim to do the same. In case of refusal, such people act according to the standard scheme: they begin to blackmail the child, share the content of his past correspondence to parents, classmates, subscribers in social networks, etc. They threaten to tell, and they also move on to insults and threats. from physical violence. Unfortunately, younger users easily share personal information with attackers and this information is then used against them,” said Mikhail Bocharov, an analyst at IT solutions provider PRO32.
over sharing
Sydenko believes that another recent nuisance for children has recently become the consequences of oversharing – excessive and thoughtless sharing of personal information about yourself or others on the network.
According to Kaspersky Lab, 50% of minors indicate their actual age on the page, and 31% indicate their school number.
“Does it seem like this is dangerous? Attackers often collect a digital portrait of the user – this helps reduce vigilance.
They can collect information, including open profiles on social networks: where and with whom the child is listening, what are his interests, with whom the parents work. After all, if someone introduces themselves as a new teacher or says they know their parents, the chances of endearing them increase.
It is worth noting that 22% of the children surveyed later regretted posting extra information on social networks,” said Sydenko.
how to save a child
Technical and non-technical protection measures must be combined to protect children from today’s distressing environment.
The technical ones include custom settings and parental control solution, while the non-technical ones involve increasing digital literacy. At the same time, experts do not recommend unnecessarily restricting a child online or constantly forbidding something: disclosure, constant dialogue and education work much more efficiently than bans alone.
Source: Gazeta
