According to Group-IB, a leading cyber analyst group, the rapid pace of automation advancements has significantly shortened the time it takes for cybercriminals to orchestrate elaborate scams, reducing the process to a mere ten minutes. This alarming development is a stark reminder of how transformative technologies while driving efficiency and productivity in legitimate industries, can also empower malicious actors in the cybercrime sphere.
Initially, scammers had to manually undertake most activities, such as locating suitable advertisements, communicating with the victim, and sourcing a phone number. The only automated element was the generation of phishing pages with the aid of Telegram bots. However, the cybercriminal landscape has evolved parallel to the legitimate automation-driven industries, demonstrating a concerning trend.
Today’s threat actors leverage parsers, software that automatically collates relevant ads and seller contact details, to expedite their malicious operations. These tools automatically send WhatsApp messages to potential victims, leaving the scammers to simply entice the victim onto the phishing site, arrange payment to an e-wallet, and subsequently receive funds.
Group-IB warns that the shift from manually executing one-fifth of tasks to automating four-fifths in just a few years has resulted in an unsettling reality where intricate cyber scams, previously taking days to assemble, can now be completed in under ten minutes. As leaders, we must respond by intensifying our cyber defense mechanisms and staying vigilant about evolving cyber threats to protect our digital assets and ensure the security of our operations.