Swiss security company starts buying old accounts from hacker forums and darknet sites
The company specializes in gaining access to the infrastructure of criminal groups by studying their behavior, tactics, and tools. It often works on the darknet, on underground forums and shadow marketplaces where it is impossible to use legal monitoring methods. For such cases, Prodaft decided to buy access directly through other people's old accounts.
The company buys accounts on platforms such as XSS, Exploit.in , RAMP4U, Verified and Breachforums. Accounts with moderator or administrator rights are especially valuable. They must have been created before December 2022, not have been involved in criminal activity and not be listed in law enforcement databases. If the account is wanted by the FBI or other intelligence agencies, it is of no interest to researchers.
Prodaft keeps the account transfer process secret, notifying authorities without revealing sensitive information. Sellers can be contacted via TOX or email, where they can send data for initial verification. Prodaft then makes an offer at a price that varies depending on the forum, access level, and activity. Payment is made in Bitcoin, Monero, or any other cryptocurrency of the seller's choice.
To advertise the new program, the company used an old account on the Russian-language XSS forum.
Previously, Prodaft was able to penetrate the infrastructure of the FIN7 hacker group. The researchers gained access to an automated attack platform that exploits Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities and SQL injections to hack corporate networks. As a result, they were able to notify more than eight thousand potentially compromised organizations of the danger.
