United Nations report released how the messaging app Telegram is being exploited by criminal networks in Southeast Asia for illegal activities
Key Takeaways
- UN reports Southeast Asia hackers exploit telegrams for illegal activities.
- Hacked data is exchanged widely and openly on the app.
- UN claims money laundering services and cybercrime tools are available on the app.
- Southeast Asia is moving forward as a multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise.
A recent United Nations report released on Monday has exposed how the messaging app Telegram is being exploited by criminal networks in Southeast Asia for illegal activities.
This report discloses the most recent accusation against the contentious encrypted app Telegram. It was detected with growing monitoring of Telegram, especially following the arrest of its founder Pavel Durov in France, who faces charges of allowing illegal activity on the platform.
Besides this, Telegram and its owner kept popping up in the headlines due to his arrest, and the recent Ukraine ban on Telegram amid fear of Russian hackers also brought light to Durov’s history and Telegram’s worldwide use.
According to a report by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the app boasts expansive channels with minimal supervision, making it easy for credit card details, passwords, and browsing history to be exchanged publicly on a large scale.
Research claims that tools used in cybercrime, including deepfake software, which is designed for deception and data-stealing malware, are publicly available, and unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges provide money laundering services.
“We move 3 million USDT stolen from overseas per day,” the report quoted an ad in Chinese.
The report further said,
“Strong evidence of underground data markets moving to Telegram and vendors actively looking to target transnational organized crime groups based in Southeast Asia.”
Source: Reuters
UNODC also revealed that Southeast Asia has developed as an essential base for a multibillion-dollar industry that exploits victims all over the world with phony schemes. Many are Chinese groups that run from guarded compounds operated by trafficking people. The sector generates between $27.4 billion and $36.5 billion each year.
UNODC’s deputy representative, Benedikt Hofmann, said to Reuters,
“The app was an easily navigable environment for criminals. For consumers, this means their data is at a higher risk of being fed into scams or other criminal activity than ever before.”
The report said the vast amount of earnings gained by criminal groups in the region has forced them to adapt, and they have incorporated new business models and technologies, including generative artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and malware, into their operations.
UNODC said,
“It had identified more than 10 deepfake software service providers specifically targeting criminal groups involved in cyber-enabled fraud in Southeast Asia.”
Despite these serious allegations, Telegram has not yet responded to the UNODC report or taken visible action to curb the criminal activities on its platform.
Cyber dangers are causing havoc in the environment and the tech sector as cyber groups heavily affect the state’s security. A recent Chinese hacker group that breached the US court wiretap system is also one of the eye-opening incidents.
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