Sales of AI-based tools is accelerating within underground ransomware marketplaces, lowering the barrier to entry for new actors in the process. An analysis of Telegram channels, 20 dark web forums, and five underground markets by anti-ransomware platform vendor Halcyon found that AI utility posts grew to 1,486 in February 2026, up from just 38 in…
Tag: Underground
AI, Apps, Exploits, Global Security News, Network Security, Risk Management
Illicit Enterprise: An Anatomy of the Modern Underground Phishing Marketplace
Just as cyber threats have grown more complex and foreboding, the underground phishing marketplace which makes such attacks possible has profoundly evolved. No longer a Craigslist-styled hodgepodge of products and services, marketplace forums have emerged as complete criminal ecosystems that function as not only distribution points for resources, but as labor exchanges to recruit and…
Global Security News
Inside an Underground Guide: How Threat Actors Vet Stolen Credit Card Shops
In cybercrime markets, trust isn’t assumed, it’s verified. Flare reveals how underground guides teach actors to evaluate carding shops based on data quality, reputation, and survivability. […]
AI, Global Security News
Compromised Site Management Panels are a Hot Item in Cybercrime Markets
Compromised cPanel credentials are being sold in bulk across underground channels as plug-and-play phishing and scam infrastructure. Flare explains how analyzing 200,000 underground posts reveals a commoditized market for hacked site management panels. […]
AI, Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Europe, Exploits, Global Security News, Network Security, privacy, Risk Management
The Dark Side of Luxury Brands: Fraud and Laundering
Haute couture may be showcased under chandeliers and velvet ropes, but its underground counterpart operates in Telegram channels, crypto wallets, and dark web storefronts. What looks like a niche problem of fake handbags is, in reality, a sprawling shadow economy where luxury goods function as financial instruments, laundering vehicles, and scam bait. “Unlike the glamorous…
AI, Global Security News
AI is becoming part of everyday criminal workflows
Underground forums include long threads about chatbots drafting phishing emails, generating code snippets, and coaching social engineering calls. A new study examined conversations captured between January 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025 across dozens of cybercrime forums to map how AI tools are entering day to day criminal operations. The dataset includes 163 discussion threads…
AI, Exploits, Global Security News
Telegram channels expose rapid weaponization of SmarterMail flaws
Underground Telegram channels shared SmarterMail exploit PoCs and stolen admin credentials within days of disclosure. Flare explains how monitoring these communities reveals rapid weaponization of CVE-2026-24423 and CVE-2026-23760 tied to ransomware activity. […]