Cybersecurity multinational Trend Micro has warned businesses about emerging threats, such as Deepfake ransomware, artificial intelligence (AI) bots, access-as-a-service and targeted subscriber identity module- (SIM-) swapping.

"A layered, risk-based response is vital for mitigating the risk posed by these and other increasingly popular threats," says chief cybersecurity officer Ed Cabrera.

A research report by Trend Micro provides new data on cybercriminal operations and patterns for buying and selling goods and services in the underground and reveals that determined efforts by law enforcement agencies appear to be having an impact on the cybercrime underground. Several forums have been taken down by global police entities and remaining forums experience persistent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and log-in problems impacting their usefulness.

"Trust has eroded among criminal interactions, causing a switch to e-commerce platforms and communication using Discord, which both increase user anonymisation," Cabrera highlights.

Loss of trust led to the creation of a new site, called DarkNet Trust, which was created to verify vendors and increase user anonymity. Other underground markets have launched new security measures, such as direct buyer-to-vendor payments, multi-signatures for cryptocurrency transactions, encrypted messaging, and a ban on JavaScript.

The report also reveals the changing market trends for cybercrime products and services since 2015. Commoditisation has driven prices down for many items.

For example, crypting services fell from $1 000 to $20 a month, while the price of generic botnets dropped from $200 to $5 a day. Pricing for other items, including ransomware, remote access trojans (RATs), online account credentials and spam services, remained stable, which indicates continued demand.

However, Trend Micro has seen high demand for other services, such as Internet of Things (IoT) botnets, with new undetected malware variants selling for as much as $5 000.

Also popular are fake news and cyber-propaganda services, with voter databases selling for hundreds of dollars, and gaming accounts for games like Fortnite fetching about $1 000 on average.

Other notable findings of the research include the emergence of markets for deepfake services for sextortion or to bypass photo verification requirements on some sites and AI-based gambling bots designed to predict dice roll patterns and to crack complex Roblox Captcha, used to detect and deter bots.

Similarly, access-as-a-service to hacked devices and corporate networks is emerging. Prices for Fortune 500 companies can reach up to $10 000 and some services include access with read and write privileges, Cabrera points out.

"Wearable device accounts, where access could enable cybercriminals to run warranty scams by requesting replacement devices, is also emerging."

"Trends in underground marketplaces will likely shift further in the months following the global Covid-19 pandemic, as attack opportunities continue to evolve. To protect against the ever-changing threat landscape, Trend Micro recommends a multi-layered defense approach to protect against the latest threats and mitigate corporate security risk."