This is a phenomenon that has been gaining momentum in recent years. Leaking banking data on the dark web, [un ensemble de réseaux où les sites ne sont pas indexés par les grands moteurs de recherche] are always more numerous. Of the four million bank cards found by specialists, more than 150,000 belonged to French people. France is the most affected European country, ahead of England and Germany.
“It’s a kind of international thieves’ deal, explains Nicolas Arpagian, cybersecurity expert. They can quickly benefit from the exploitation of this data. Why ? Because the money, they can try to recover it in a very short time, transfer it to shelter it and therefore it can be monetized in an extremely short time. “
The average price of a French card on the dark web is around 15 euros. The most expensive are those from Hong Kong or the Philippines. The study establishes that cybercriminals can quickly earn more than 40 million euros by reselling this data. “Hackers know how to exploit this data. In addition, we can for example geolocate it, make maps emanating from such and such a country or a certain geographical area have even more value and that is why they are very wanted by pirates. “
Difficult to protect against these thefts, according to researchers who advocate vigilance. You should check your accounts regularly, they recommend. And when buying online, “you have to take at least five minutes” to check some elements on the site, advises Damien Bancal, journalist specializing in cybersecurity.
“As when we are in front of a physical storefront, we look at the prices, we feel the material, on the Internet we can look since when the site has existed, who is potentially behind, if it is known, if it has a physical address, if there is a phone number and after-sales service, good feedback. “
Damien Bancal, journalist specializing in cybersecurityto franceinfo
Damien Bancal also encourages people to be wary of rowdy promotions, at prices that may seem improbable depending on the type of product. Finally, the presence of the padlock to the left of the web address, and this address starting with an https, an apparent sign of security, is increasingly hijacked by hackers, who use this appearance to deceive consumers. According to the cybersecurity specialist, the banks are therefore not the main culprits in these hacks. They have on the contrary “does a lot of work” to secure Internet transactions. Rather, it is everyone’s responsibility to avoid “distribute the details of his bank card a little bit anywhere”.
A flourishing black market for French bank cards on the dark web – report by Boris Hallier.