Fatal Mistakes of Cybercriminals
We continue the series of articles about stories of hacker mistakes that led either to their arrest or to the establishment of their identity. In the first part, we already talked about well-known cybercriminals like Jeremy Hammond and Cody Kretsinger. But this chapter is no less interesting, and we will start it with the most classic mistake that has led more than one hacker to the dock.
Too Much Self-Confidence or Thirst for Fame.
Vain, arrogant hackers are a real find for law enforcement agencies, as their desire to prove their "coolness" often outweighs caution and the basic instinct of self-preservation. "Prove that you’re not weak" – this is literally a childish "setup," yet it works on quite adult, intelligent people.
One of the most vivid examples in recent years is the capture of hackers due to playing with their ego and greed. One notable case is the conflict between Anonymous and LulzSec, which led to the capture of the most dangerous cybercriminals and the collapse of major hacker groups. Each of these groups considered itself the most powerful and influential, demanding attention from the public. This is what law enforcement agencies exploited, pitting them against each other through social engineering, and as a result, they were able to identify and arrest many members of these groups.
Among the recent high-profile cases is the capture of not only hackers but also the fight against drug trafficking through the creation of a fake secure messenger that was advertised on closed platforms. Social engineering and phishing methods were also used to get the criminals to use this software with hidden functionality embedded in it, which later helped during operational search activities and the collection of evidence.
In the End, They Make a Mistake, and Someone Notices It.
Controlling the human factor is almost impossible; it is necessary to analyze every detail during the investigation to find out exactly where the criminal made a mistake. To collect such data, specialists use deception tools. These are software solutions that create false objects in the infrastructure to attract the hacker's attention and make them make a mistake that reveals their presence. For example, a deception tool can simulate an open port that the hacker will attempt to use for hacking, but in reality, it is a trap that will collect information about the hacker and send it to cybersecurity specialists.