A new cybercrime marketplace, named OLVX, has appeared online and is quickly gaining new customers—cybercriminals who want to buy tools to carry out online fraud and cyberattacks.
OLVX follows a recent trend where cybercrime markets are being hosted on the regular internet (clearnet) instead of the dark web. This trend is worrying, as this way, more people can access these markets, while they can be promoted through search engine optimization (SEO).
ZeroFox researchers , who first spotted the OLVX market in early July 2023, observed a significant increase in market activity in the fall, involving both sellers and buyers.
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Researchers believe that OLVX's increased popularity is due to SEO efforts by the market's administrators, advertisements appearing on hacking forums, promotion through the platform's dedicated Telegram channel, and advertising by hackers themselves who have used it and recommend it to others.
“While the OLVX marketplace offers thousands of individual products across multiple categories, the site’s administrators maintain relationships with various cybercriminals who create custom toolkits and can obtain specialized files, thus furthering OLVX’s ability to retain and attract customers to the platform,” ZeroFox researchers explain.
OLVX cybercrime market
OLVX offers an “instant payment deposit” system that supports Bitcoin, Monero, Ethereum, Litecoin, TRON, Bitcoin Cash, Binance Coin, and Perfect Money.
This encourages additional spending for users as funds are constantly available, so browsing leads to more frequent purchases.
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What is sold in the cybercrime market?
OLVX hosts thousands of digital objects, which facilitate the conduct of fraud and cyberattacks.
More specifically, the following are sold:
- Access to hacked websites worldwide (with the ability to verify the connection before purchase). Prices are extremely low (maybe under $5).
- More than 6,000 active cPanel are available, likely from compromised websites.
- Compromised Remote Desktop Protocol and Secure Shell access to potentially legitimate servers, priced under $10. Pricing varies depending on access level and system specifications.
- Over 1,000 compromised accounts and scripts for running email campaigns.
- Over 8,000 compromised webmail credentials, suitable for social engineering attacks.
- Email addresses and compromised credentials, used for large-scale attacks (e.g. phishing etc.).
- Credentials from specific domains/services.
- Pre-developed phishing kits, some with advanced features such as 2FA bypass. The kits target a variety of sectors, including retail and finance.
Verifying the validity and quality of the above data and services sold is impossible, given the nature of the platform. However, the growing popularity of the OLVX cybercrime marketplace lends some credibility to the authenticity of most of the items available.
Zerofox researchers noticed that activity on the platform peaks as we get closer to Christmas .
Precautions and strategies for dealing with cybercrime markets
One of the key precautions in dealing with cybercriminal marketplaces is public awareness and information. Users must be aware of the risks associated with cybercriminal marketplaces and be able to recognize threats to prevent their data from ending up in these marketplaces.
Another way to tackle cybercrime markets is through cooperation between national and international law enforcement authorities. Authorities should work together to detect and combat cybercriminal activities, by exchanging information and coordinating their actions.
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Furthermore, strengthening legislative frameworks and implementing strict sanctions against cybercriminal activities are crucial. Governments must strengthen cybersecurity laws and implement strict sanctions for offenders in order to deter activity in cybercriminal markets.
Finally, strengthening cybersecurity and protecting personal data are essential to countering cybercriminal markets. Organizations and businesses must implement strict cybersecurity, such as data encryption and restricted access to sensitive information, in order to protect their data from breach and misuse by cybercriminals.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com
