The Battle for Your Computer

CHAPTER 4The New Money—Catalysts of Cybercrime

What do criminals care about most: money, honor, or revenge? The real answer is: not getting caught. Criminals who know that they will get caught for committing a crime simply won't commit it. What is true of criminals, in general, is also true of cybercriminals: there is nothing they care about more than anonymity.

Technological developments since the new millennium have given rise to new tools to achieve online anonymity. Two technologies have been especially significant: the dark web, which allows for anonymous activity online, and Bitcoin, which allows for cash transfers without the mediation of a bank.

The dark web

One day in 2017 at IntSights, we discovered that someone, using a false identity, was offering the personal details of the customers of one of our major clients for sale on the dark web. We investigated his activity on the dark web and managed to connect it to a Turkish Facebook account that belonged to an employee at that company. He had exploited the dark web to make a few thousand dollars on the side, and when we showed the proof to his employer, the company sued him and he was, of course, fired and forced to pay damages.

In February 2019, it was reported that Dream Market, a site on the dark web, had put up for sale 620 million user accounts from several sites, including MyFitnessPal and MyHeritage.¹ The accounts, which contained users' personal information, emails, and passwords, were obtained in a series ...