An experienced hacker has revealed what is really happening on the dark web – where hackers, assassins and drug dealers proliferate.
The source, who spoke anonymously, explained how hackers use ransomware to steal data in exchange for large payments or “to see the world burn,” and explained that any system connected to a network is at risk of being attacked.
“I have seen hospitals being encrypted and people are left with a choice: do I pay to decrypt the data or risk my life?” said the masked man to hide his identity.
The dark web is a place where activity cannot be tracked. A recent report showed that the most popular content is child pornography, followed by guns and drugs.
While the hacker did not address these illegal activities, he was concerned about “the significant impact (that ransomware would have) on financial markets or the potential impact on things like power generation facilities.”
Philip Ingram, a retired colonel in British military intelligence, said last year: “The dark web is increasingly being used by dangerous and organized criminals for a variety of purposes. along the borders of the districts. For exploitation in gangs of sexual exploitation of children or recruitment by terrorist and extremist groups.
Several platforms provide access to the dark web, including i2p, FreeNet, and Tor.
Tor – short for The Onion Router – is a huge array of encrypted websites that allow users to surf the Internet every day with complete anonymity.
It uses many layers of security and encryption to keep users anonymous online.
One study estimated that about 2.6 million users visit Tor daily.
“The same study showed that in a single data collection, about 80% of traffic was directed to services offering illegal pornography, images of abuse and/or child sexual abuse material,” the Australian National University researchers write in The Conversation. . . .
The hacker was interviewed by Vice in 2021, but recently the video has resurfaced as a reminder of the existence of a dark world of humans whose sole purpose is to wreak havoc using the internet.
The man started his hacking career as a black hat type of law-abiding cybercriminal who carries out attacks for his own purposes.
Since then, he has turned a new leaf and become a white hat, using his skills for good, hunting down online criminals and looking for vulnerabilities in systems that need to be patched, not exploited.
“If I wanted to get access to a reliable company, I wouldn’t go to break down the door,” he said at the beginning of the interview. “I would choose people that I know, who have access, who I know bring personal devices in building”. or do something in the neighborhood with delicate things, and then I will pave my way.
Joseph Pope developed the first ransomware attack in 1989 against the healthcare industry. The attack, dubbed the AIDS Trojan, was carried out by Bob, who distributed 20,000 infected tablets to attendees at a WHO AIDS conference.
The discs were titled “AIDS Information – Introductory Tablets”.
When a floppy disk was loaded into a computer, a large image would appear on the screen reading the program, which would adversely affect other software applications. You will owe compensation and potential damages to PC Cyborg Corporation and your mini computer will stop working properly.
The program will count how many times the computer has been booted, and once it reaches 90, it will hide directories and encrypt or lock filenames on your C drive.
To regain access, users had to send $189 to PC Cyborg in a Panama mailbox.
Since then, the ransomware has evolved into a hacker who doesn’t need to leave his home – everything can be done on the dark web.
Hacker told Vice, “In the old days, for a country to be able to destroy a country as big as the United States, you needed millions and millions of dollars of investment to do something. Today, all you need is a few thousand dollars, a laptop and a couple of smart hackers to type in some code and send something.”
Kevin Mitnick is considered “the most famous hacker in the world” for attacks on 40 major companies including IBM, Nokia and Motorola in 1995.
He stole a computer code estimated to be worth about $330 million and spent five years in prison.
After his release in 2000, Mitnick said he “reformed” and now lives by white hat standards as an ethical security hacker.
The person who spoke to Vice claimed to be doing this kind of work. “I used to think of myself as a black hat and changed into a white hat,” he said. “White hats tend to be moral hackers who try to do things to improve the common good and are law abiding.”
But his past adventures have placed him at the epicenter of the dark web’s insidious antics.
Source: Daily Mail
