Former Russian carder Pavel Sitnikov told Kommersant about the work of Russian-language carding forums and the consequences of their carding.
— When and how did Russian-language carding forums appear?
— Forums appeared in the 1990s for the exchange of information and communication between carders. They started making money on these sites in the 2000s. Exploit was originally an open, free forum with a technical focus: its participants exchanged information about hacking methods and vulnerabilities. Later, the forum became more closed, and registration on it began to cost $100. Maza and Verified are closed platforms. They mainly host fraudulent schemes. Registration on Maza costs $1 thousand, for it you need to have three guarantors from among the forum participants.
— There are more than 2 thousand users in the leaked Maza database. Is this the real number of forum participants?
— I think less than 2 thousand people actually communicated on the forum. Mostly there were those who had registered since its inception. In recent years, new posts have rarely appeared on Maza. But the participants continued to conduct business and exchange contacts in personal messages. They represent the main value when hacking a forum. You won’t make money from this information, but it’s interesting for the authorities.
— How will hacking forums affect the carder business?
— The main consequence will be the addition to the “Most Wanted FBI” “honor board.” The impact of hacks on the carder business and community is very painful. Forum participants have been doing business on these sites for decades, and after hacking, the public finds out about it. Carders are afraid of being discovered.
— Can prices for cybercriminal services rise?
— I think prices for “breakthrough” will rise. But this is more likely due to the tightening of the policy of Roskomnadzor and the Ministry of Internal Affairs against leaks of personal data: the requirement to close bots that break through Telegram, increasing fines for violations when processing such data.
— How much can it cost to hack a carding forum?
— From $1 million for a mediocre forum to infinity.
— How often do such hacks happen?
— There have always been attacks on carding forums, but successful ones are almost always hidden by all possible means. Exploit has experienced frequent attacks before. This usually happens due to internal disputes, for example, one of the participants was blocked or deleted and they take revenge on the admins.
— Could attacks on forums be a response to attacks by Russian-speaking OldGremlin carders on Russian companies last year?
— It is not customary for Russian-speaking carders to work using the .ru domain zone. This is due to the fact that, firstly, it is not good to crap where you live, and secondly, you can earn much more money from attacks abroad. I don't think the forum hacks were a response to last year's attacks on Russian companies, because I doubt they were attacks by OldGremlin.
— What then could be the reason for attacks on forums?
— The current attacks by carder sites are a demonstration execution. One group is working, who is not yet clear, but there are suspicions. The reason is the redistribution of spheres of influence. Behind this are those who were or are directly related to the sites or serve them. It is unlikely, almost impossible, that these are foreign carder groups or intelligence agencies.
(c) Interviewed by Yulia Stepanova
www.kommersant.ru
— When and how did Russian-language carding forums appear?
— Forums appeared in the 1990s for the exchange of information and communication between carders. They started making money on these sites in the 2000s. Exploit was originally an open, free forum with a technical focus: its participants exchanged information about hacking methods and vulnerabilities. Later, the forum became more closed, and registration on it began to cost $100. Maza and Verified are closed platforms. They mainly host fraudulent schemes. Registration on Maza costs $1 thousand, for it you need to have three guarantors from among the forum participants.
— There are more than 2 thousand users in the leaked Maza database. Is this the real number of forum participants?
— I think less than 2 thousand people actually communicated on the forum. Mostly there were those who had registered since its inception. In recent years, new posts have rarely appeared on Maza. But the participants continued to conduct business and exchange contacts in personal messages. They represent the main value when hacking a forum. You won’t make money from this information, but it’s interesting for the authorities.
— How will hacking forums affect the carder business?
— The main consequence will be the addition to the “Most Wanted FBI” “honor board.” The impact of hacks on the carder business and community is very painful. Forum participants have been doing business on these sites for decades, and after hacking, the public finds out about it. Carders are afraid of being discovered.
— Can prices for cybercriminal services rise?
— I think prices for “breakthrough” will rise. But this is more likely due to the tightening of the policy of Roskomnadzor and the Ministry of Internal Affairs against leaks of personal data: the requirement to close bots that break through Telegram, increasing fines for violations when processing such data.
— How much can it cost to hack a carding forum?
— From $1 million for a mediocre forum to infinity.
— How often do such hacks happen?
— There have always been attacks on carding forums, but successful ones are almost always hidden by all possible means. Exploit has experienced frequent attacks before. This usually happens due to internal disputes, for example, one of the participants was blocked or deleted and they take revenge on the admins.
— Could attacks on forums be a response to attacks by Russian-speaking OldGremlin carders on Russian companies last year?
— It is not customary for Russian-speaking carders to work using the .ru domain zone. This is due to the fact that, firstly, it is not good to crap where you live, and secondly, you can earn much more money from attacks abroad. I don't think the forum hacks were a response to last year's attacks on Russian companies, because I doubt they were attacks by OldGremlin.
— What then could be the reason for attacks on forums?
— The current attacks by carder sites are a demonstration execution. One group is working, who is not yet clear, but there are suspicions. The reason is the redistribution of spheres of influence. Behind this are those who were or are directly related to the sites or serve them. It is unlikely, almost impossible, that these are foreign carder groups or intelligence agencies.
(c) Interviewed by Yulia Stepanova
«Заработать на атаках за рубежом можно гораздо больше»
Павел Ситников, бывший российский хакер
www.kommersant.ru
