{"id":2197,"date":"2022-07-12T04:22:06","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T11:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/?p=2197"},"modified":"2023-09-27T13:26:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T20:26:04","slug":"a-teen-hacker-group-is-selling-malware-on-discord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/a-teen-hacker-group-is-selling-malware-on-discord\/","title":{"rendered":"A teen hacker group is selling malware on Discord"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When you think of the type of person who might be a hacker, what first comes to mind likely isn\u2019t a teenager. That\u2019s in spite of the fact that there have been several cases of teens getting involved in online crime in the past few years, as we\u2019ve previously written about on the SSLs.com blog<\/a>. Well, they\u2019re at it again (or, more accurately, haven\u2019t stopped being at it.) Researchers at cybersecurity software firm Avast have discovered an online community of teens dedicated to some dubious online practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What the group does<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Avast<\/a>, the group is dedicated to exchanging and spreading malware-as-a-service software known as Lunar. The teens have put together toolkits and malware builders that are easy to use so that anyone can create their own DIY malware, even if they lack technical skills.
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The situation first came to researchers\u2019 attention when they came across ransomware software that cost only $25, which is far lower than what something like this would usually cost. Upon further investigation, they found that the ransomware encrypted<\/a> files and changed their extensions to .LUNAR. Other malware they found included crypto miners and information stealers. In contrast to the type of malware the researchers usually encountered, this had a strangely low possibility of profit.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, they found the creator selling the software on Discord, primarily to 11-16 year-olds. Aside from selling it, the creator also hosted giveaways, took suggestions from clients, shared plugins, and generally hung out with everyone. This was when the researchers discovered that although the malware had the capabilities mentioned in the previous paragraph, it was mainly advertised to carry out some decidedly teenage pranks. These pranks included stealing or deleting Fortnite or Minecraft folders, taking over game accounts, and repeatedly opening a browser window with PornHub on an unsuspecting target\u2019s computer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why malware groups?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jan Holman, an Avast researcher<\/a>, believes such groups appeal to young people because hacking is seen as cool and fun. A very modern act of rebellion. It\u2019s also an easy way to make money and requires little to no programming knowledge to create their own malware with these kits; just a little customization, and it’s ready to go. You also can\u2019t discount the community element. Making friends and being part of a group is a powerful thing, especially when you\u2019re a teenager. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there are far healthier, less illegal ways to find community as a teenager. Holman stresses that it\u2019s not just the people they\u2019re targeting who are at risk but also they themselves and their families. The malware they purchase may infect their own computer, exposing things like bank details and personal accounts to cybercriminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrap up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you suspect your child might be involved in such activities, Avast experts advise parents not to forbid them from certain online places outright but instead teach them to think critically about the dangers that lurk on certain corners of the Internet. Here\u2019s a guide on how to talk to your children about online safety<\/a>. If they are interested in hacking, you don\u2019t necessarily have to discourage them, as it isn\u2019t always a bad thing, as the media might have led you to believe. There are plenty of ethical hackers out there who work in the realm of cybersecurity. But it\u2019s crucial that they know the ramifications of carrying out illicit activities in a digital setting and that stealing from someone online is no different from stealing from someone in \u201creal life\u201d.\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you think of the type of person who might be a hacker, what first comes to mind likely isn\u2019t a teenager. That\u2019s in spite of the fact that there have been several cases of teens getting involved in online crime in the past few years, as we\u2019ve previously written about on the SSLs.com blog. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2197"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2672,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions\/2672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssls.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}