Jakarta, domclub Indonesia
—
Kaspersky
found increased blocking of illegal activities in instant messaging applications
Telegram
.This makes cybercriminals start migrating to other platforms.
Vladislav Belousov, Digital Footprint Analyst at Kaspersky, said cybercriminals consider Telegram a convenient tool for their various activities, but the balance is now starting to shift.
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He says cybercriminals’ channels are still staying online longer than they did a few years ago, but much higher block volumes mean operators can no longer count on long-term stability.
“When a storefront or service disappears overnight – and sometimes reappears only to be removed weeks later – building a reliable business becomes much more difficult. We are starting to see the early stages of migration as a direct consequence,” Belousov said in his statement, Wednesday (10/12).
The Telegram bot framework and other built-in features on the platform provide an easy-to-use ecosystem for the underground world.
A single bot can simultaneously manage queries, process crypto asset payments, and instantly deliver stolen bank cards, infostealer logs, phishing kits, or DDoS attacks to hundreds of buyers per day, often without even operator involvement.
Then, unlimited file storage and no expiry date also eliminate the need for external hosting when distributing multi-gigabyte database dumps or stolen company documents.
This seamless automation naturally prioritizes high-volume, low-price, low-skill offerings, such as leaked banking cards or other data, malware hosting, etc.
Meanwhile, high-value transactions such as zero-day vulnerability information remain on reputable dark web forums.
Kaspersky researchers discovered two trends related to illegal activity on Telegram.
First, the average lifespan of shadow channels has increased, with the proportion of channels surviving for more than nine months more than tripling in 2023-2024 compared to 2021-2022.
But at the same time, Telegram blocking activity has increased significantly.
The monthly removal rates recorded since October 2024 even at their lowest point are comparable to the peak levels seen throughout 2023, and the overall rate continues to increase in 2025. This is said to discourage malicious activity from occurring.
Other disadvantages of Telegram for cybercriminals include the lack of built-in end-to-end (E2E) encryption for chats, the inability to use one’s own servers for communications (due to centralized infrastructure), and closed server-side code, making it impossible to verify its functionality.
As a result, several well-established underground communities, including the nearly 9,000-member BFRepo group and operations
malware-as-a-service
Angel Drainer, has started to shift their main activities to other platforms.The reason is repeated interference with their activity on Telegram.
(lom/dmi)
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