As Google deploys AI hacking bots, hackers continue to fight with each other, and the FBI remotely deletes malware files from U.S. victim computers, the war against criminal hacking is really hotting up. The U.S. Department of Justice has now confirmed that some 17 million Americans have been impacted by the hackers targeted in the latest FBI offensive, Operation Talent, and now a shady group known as The Manipulaters has been hit, hard. Here’s what you need to know.
Operation Talent—The FBI Attack On Criminal Hackers
As I reported Jan. 30, the U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed a joint FBI and International law enforcement agencies offensive against dark web marketplaces and infrastructure allegedly aiding criminal hackers. Operation Talent, according to unsealed seizure warrants, identified a whole bunch of servers hosting the Cracked criminal marketplace infrastructure. Those warrants stated that the Cracked marketplace had been selling stolen login credentials, hacking tools, and servers for hosting malware and stolen data — as well as other tools for carrying out cybercrime and fraud — since March 2018. Cracked had over four million users, listed over 28 million posts advertising cybercrime tools and stolen information, generated approximately $4 million in revenue, and impacted at least 17 million victims from the United States according to the Department of Justice statement. A separate statement has detailed another raid, this time of 39 Pakistan-based criminal marketplaces, operated by a mysterious group known as The Manipulaters.
Who Are The Manipulaters And Why Has The FBI Targeted Them?
A Jan. 31 report from the ever-brilliant investigative cybercrime journalist Brian Krebs, has taken a deep dive into the seizure of the servers and domains involved in what he referred to as a “hugely popular spam and malware dissemination service,” operated by a group collectively known as The Manipulaters.
The Manipulaters, known to have been operating since at least 2015, are behind the targeted cybercrime services that have been running under such brand names as Heartsender and various ‘FUD” variations, where rather than Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, FUD stands for Fully Un-Detectable. It would seem that Fudpage and Fudtools, to name but two, were not as undetectable as they thought. Actually, the FUD reference here is to hacking resources to evade detection by security protections, and now they have been detected and deleted.
“The Manipulaters never seemed to care much about protecting their own identities,” Krebs said, “so it’s not surprising that they were unable or unwilling to protect their own customers.”
“Historically, attackers can more easily obtain information and tools than defenders, giving them a perpetual advantage,” Evan Dornbush, a former NSA cybersecurity expert, said, “Actions like this make it more expensive for cybercriminals to operate, and ultimately, this is a good thing.” Throw in the fact that hackers who relied on purchasing tools and network access from these marketplaces won’t now be able to continue, “raised the barrier to entry for their criminal enterprise aspirations,” Dornbush concluded.
I’ve said it before, and I’m going to repeat it: virtual shots have now been fired by the FBI, and criminal hackers will likely be running scared for a while. And that, dear reader, is a very good thing indeed. While it lasts, the truth is that new marketplaces will appear, and existing ones will soon move into positions of new prominence. But with the FBI on their back, they must know their time is always limited.
