China’s cybercrime underground making money off big data
Through observation and analysis of open source information and behavior on multiple closed forums, Intel 471 found actors adopting the use of legitimate big data technology for cybercrime and monetizing the data they obtain on the Chinese-language underground.
The behavior Intel 471 has analyzed points to a cycle that involves several different layers of cybercriminals, the use of insider information, and unwitting victims in order to earn ill-gotten gains. The schemes themselves, says Intel 471, "proliferate partly due to China’s desire to be a global epicenter in big data analytics, especially as it pushes to become synonymous with new technology sectors like the Internet of Things (IoT). With China injecting big data into every economic sector, the environment has become ripe for criminals to create and execute schemes that hide in the noise brought on by the amount of data at hand."