Telegram now sees an increase in cybercriminal activities over 100% as data dumps are spotted! Cybercriminals have reportedly been using Telegram for a number of years now. This is mostly due to its encryption and being easy to access.
Telegram Sees Over 100% Increase in Cybercriminals
The Financial Times conducted a recent investigation along with the cyber intelligence group known as Cyberint and found that there has been a "100% plus" rise in the use of Telegram by cybercriminals as of recent. The FT notes that the rise in criminal activity on the app actually came after users started to flock to it following the shocking change in WhatsApp's privacy policy.
According to Engadget, for those that recall, WhatsApp actually asked its users to accept a certain revised policy that would allow the app to share users' data to its parent company Facebook just early this 2021. Users were reportedly outraged and WhatsApp then had to clarify that it still will not be reading users' private communications.
Crimes Done on Telegram
Even so, users then started to migrate to rivals that offered a more secure form of messaging and other similar messaging, capabilities just like Telegram. This incident has reportedly led to a steep increase in the number of users the app had. One way to protect oneself from being scammed is through reverse image search whenever there is something sketchy.
Investors note that there is actually a ballooning network of hackers that have been sharing and selling data leaks in certain channels that have tens of thousands of subscribers. The number of times "Email:pass" as well as "Combo" were mentioned in the app over the course of the last year grew fourfold.
Data Dumps Found on Telegram
A number of data dumps circulating on the app actually contained 300,000 up to 600,000 email and password combinations for both gaming and email services. Cybercriminals are reportedly also selling financial information. This includes credit card numbers, hacking tools through the app, and passport copies.
Cyber threat analysts over at Cyberint even explained that its encrypted messaging service is quite increasingly popular among threat actors that are conducting the fraudulent activity and even selling stolen data. This is because it is more convenient to use compared to the dark web. Apple has reportedly urged its users to update their devices to protect them from pegasus spyware.
Read Also: Fortinet VPN Users' Compromised as Hacker Gang Leaks 500,000 Passwords on Dark Web Forum
Telegram Dataset for Sale
In addition to actually being more convenient compared to the dark web, Telegram is also reportedly less likely to be monitored by the authorities, according to Samra. Telegram has reportedly removed the channel containing massive datasets with email and password combos being sold after The Financial Times notified the company.
In a particular statement, Telegram also noted that it has a policy for removing certain personal data that is shared without consent. Telegram also notes that it has an ever-growing force of certain professional moderators that are reportedly removing about 10,000 public communities a day for violation of Telegram's TOS.
Related Article: WhatsApp Fined $267 Million for Not Being Transparent About Data Sharing with Facebook
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
