Digital Shadows research: Escrow systems on cybercriminal forums

guest · Aug 12, 2020

Digital Shadows research: Escrow systems on cybercriminal forums
August 11, 2020
https://www.securitymagazine.com/ar...search-escrow-systems-on-cybercriminal-forums

A new Digital Shadows report focuses on the escrow systems used on cybercriminal forums. These systems are deeply sophisticated, relying not just on similar technological mechanisms as traditional ecommerce, but on social, community oriented mechanisms as well, such as arbitration.

According to Digital Shadows, arbitration is a formalized system in operation on many Russian-language platforms in which a forum member who feels they have been wronged in some way during a transaction can bring a claim against the other party in the deal.

"A senior member of the forum team will hear both sides’ versions of events and collect evidence from both plaintiff and defendant (usually in the form of conversation logs from private messaging services). Other forum members often chip in with their own opinions or perhaps experiences of working with one of the parties," explains the Photon Research Team.
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Recently, the Russian-language cybercriminal scene was" rocked by the news of an arbitration case involving a trusted member of the community and one of the most notorious ransomware groups around."

The case revolved around the actions of a trusted forum guarantor and got Digital Shadows thinking about the whole system of escrow in place on cybercriminal forums representing various language communities and the strengths and weaknesses of the arrangement as a whole.
Below are some of the findings from the report.
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Digital Shadows: Escrow systems on cybercriminal forums: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

On cybercriminal forums, it describes an arrangement where, after a deal has been agreed upon, the buyer sends their funds through to a neutral third party known as a “guarantor.”
Russian-language cybercriminal forums
Escrow systems are extremely commonplace on Russian-language cybercriminal forums. Most platforms offer an official escrow service for their members, with a senior member of the forum team designated as the trusted guarantor.
English-language cybercriminal forums
English-language cybercriminal forums are far less likely than their Russian-language counterparts to feature formalized escrow systems. Vendors and buyers are often dependent on other forum members, preferably highly ranked members who are willing to take on ad-hoc requests to act as a guarantor.
German-language cybercriminal forums
Taking a different language community as another example, escrow is commonplace on German-language cybercriminal forums, where it is known as “Treuhand.” The classic Treuhand process typically follows a standard escrow model in which funds are held until both buyer and seller are satisfied with the deal’s conditions.
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