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December 3, 2021

Who Is the Network Access Broker ‘Babam’?

This post was originally published on this siteRarely do cybercriminal gangs that deploy ransomware gain the initial access to the target themselves. More commonly, that access is purchased from a cybercriminal broker who specializes in acquiring remote access credentials — such as usernames and passwords needed to remotely connect to the target’s network. In this post we’ll look at the clues left behind by “Babam,” the handle chosen by a cybercriminal who has sold such access to ransomware groups on many occasions over the past few years. Since the beginning of 2020, Babam has set up numerous auctions on the […]
January 11, 2022

Who is the Network Access Broker ‘Wazawaka?’

This post was originally published on this siteIn a great many ransomware attacks, the criminals who pillage the victim’s network are not the same crooks who gained the initial access to the victim organization. More commonly, the infected PC or stolen VPN credentials the gang used to break in were purchased from a cybercriminal middleman known as an initial access broker. This post examines some of the clues left behind by “Wazawaka,” the hacker handle chosen by a major access broker in the Russian-speaking cybercrime scene. Wazawaka has been a highly active member of multiple cybercrime forums over the past […]
June 28, 2022

The Link Between AWM Proxy & the Glupteba Botnet

This post was originally published on this siteOn December 7, 2021, Google announced it was suing two Russian men allegedly responsible for operating the Glupteba botnet, a global malware menace that has infected millions of computers over the past decade. That same day, AWM Proxy — a 14-year-old anonymity service that rents hacked PCs to cybercriminals — suddenly went offline. Security experts had long seen a link between Glupteba and AWM Proxy, but new research shows AWM Proxy’s founder is one of the men being sued by Google. AWMproxy, the storefront for renting access to infected PCs, circa 2011. Launched […]
March 9, 2023

Who’s Behind the NetWire Remote Access Trojan?

This post was originally published on this siteA Croatian national has been arrested for allegedly operating NetWire, a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) marketed on cybercrime forums since 2012 as a stealthy way to spy on infected systems and siphon passwords. The arrest coincided with a seizure of the NetWire sales website by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). While the defendant in this case hasn’t yet been named publicly, the NetWire website has been leaking information about the likely true identity and location of its owner for the past 11 years. Typically installed by booby-trapped Microsoft Office documents and […]