Facebook Competitor Surfaces As Cyber Criminal Hub: FT

Telegram has emerged as a hub for cybercriminals looking to buy, sell and share stolen data and hacking tools, Financial Times reports as per Cyberint's research.
Telegram has over 500 million active users and is one of the ten most downloaded apps globally.
The research group detected a ballooning network of hackers sharing data leaks, sometimes in channels with thousands of subscribers, which could jeopardize its plans of initial public offering and introduction of advertising.
The content resembled that of dark web marketplaces and was more user-friendly compared to the dark web.
Facebook Inc FB owned WhatsApp's new privacy policy explains the users' exodus to Telegram.
The posts offered emails and passwords useful for hacking video game platforms and user login details for Yandex NV YNDX, Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google, and Yahoo. Data offered for sale also included credit card information, copies of passports, and credentials for bank accounts, and Netflix Inc NFLX.
The FT report also quoted that vpnMentor had found data dumps circulating on Telegram from previous hacks and data leaks of companies, including Facebook.
Cyberint analyst Tal Samra explained the transition from the dark web to Telegram due to encryption anonymity and less likeliness of tracking.
Hackers avoided WhatsApp for privacy reasons and for displaying users' numbers in group chats, unlike Telegram.
Related Content: Why Are Facebook's Shares Under Pressure?
Price Action: FB shares traded lower by 2.28% at $364.54 on the last check Friday.

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