Recently, our team exposed sophisticated scam kits designed to steal sensitive data and trick consumers. But underground marketplaces are not just for malware and stolen passwords. They also offer services designed to manipulate your opinion of the products and services you buy every day.
In our latest research, we examined cybercrime forums where sellers advertise illicit “reputation management” services. For the right price, these underground operators offer to flood a product with glowing, five-star ratings or remove negative reviews. This shadowy industry works both ways—artificially boosting reputations and deliberately hiding legitimate complaints.
A major shift we are seeing in this space is the adoption of new technology. We also found that cybercriminals are using AI to automate these fake review campaigns. This could allow them to quickly generate realistic, human-sounding feedback in large volumes without much manual effort.
Read more…
Source: Malwarebytes Labs
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Roku says more than 500,000 accounts impacted in cyberattack
April 12, 2024
Streaming service provider Roku said on Friday it identified a second cyberattack that impacted about 576,000 additional accounts while investigating a breach that affected 15,000 user accounts earlier this year. The company, which had more than 80 million active accounts, said the hackers did not gain access to any sensitive information such as full credit card ...
- Government Consulting Firm GMA Reports a Massive Data Breach That Revealed 341,650 Social Security Numbers
April 10, 2024
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, where data breaches seem to be more of a certainty than a possibility, the recent revelation by Greylock McKinnon Associates (GMA) marks a significant moment of concern for privacy advocates, cybersecurity professionals, and individuals alike. The breach, exposing a staggering 341,650 Social Security numbers, has cast a spotlight on the urgent ...
- Russian businesses targeted by novel ransomware gang
April 10, 2024
Attacks with a Conti ransomware code-based backdoor have been deployed by the new Muliaka ransomware operation against businesses across Russia since at least December, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Windows systems and VMware ESXi infrastructure of one Russian company had been compromised with the malware after Muliaka had infiltrated ...
- IMF: Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability
April 9, 2024
Cyberattacks have more than doubled since the pandemic. While companies have historically suffered relatively modest direct losses from cyberattacks, some have experienced a much heavier toll. US credit reporting agency Equifax, for example, paid more than $1 billion in penalties after a major data breach in 2017 that affected about 150 million consumers. As we show ...
- UK: Cyber security breaches survey 2024
April 9, 2024
Cyber security breaches and attacks remain a common threat. Half of businesses (50%) and around a third of charities (32%) report having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. This is much higher for medium businesses (70%), large businesses (74%) and high-income charities with £500,000 or more in annual ...
- Cybercrime on agriculture operations and businesses is on the rise
April 9, 2024
When it comes to cyberattacks, ransomware and electronic fraud, farms and ranches are attracting the interest of hackers because they see these agriculture operations as potentially lucrative targets that may not have up-to-date fraud protection tools in place. Cathy Lennon, general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, says every point along the agrifood chain has ...