Security News > 2020 > July > Threat Actors Introduce Unique ‘Newbie’ Hacker Forum

A well-known private hacking forum has recently become more inclusive, introducing a new platform to help newbie threat actors flourish and hone their expertise, research has found.

"Historically, the only times we have seen exclusive forums lower the parameters for entry are when they have allowed members willing to pay a set fee in order to bypass the application process. The payment enabled the forum to gain more members but was also financially beneficial to the forum. In CryptBB's case, they are using a dedicated subforum to share knowledge and help others for free. They might be doing this for site-traffic metrics, but the intent behind the scheme seems innocent enough and the forum likely feels it is a way to give back and help others to increase their skills/knowledge."

Guirakhoo told Threatpost, "Whilst I cannot exactly say for sure the reasons for these latest activities to court new members, it is highly likely that the forum wants/needs additional members for future projects/work and the current range of skill sets of their current membership might be limited. The forum itself has historically been identified to offer bespoke services on other forums, indicating the forum acts as a collective rather than individual entities. This is in contrast to other forums where individual users usually offer specific services. Therefore, the forum admins may recognize a need to sustain a higher member count in order to maintain these services and ensure they are appropriately staffed."

Those behind CryptBB also might want to use the newbie forum to expose itself to a wider audience, as an exclusive forum doesn't garner as much activity and participation as one with a lower barrier to entry.

Overall, the move will "Likely increase forum participation in the long-run and therefore establish the forum as a staple in the hacking and carding scene," according to Digital Shadows.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/threat-actors-introduce-unique-newbie-hacker-forum/157489/