Today’s technological interconnectedness has influenced the vast emergence of cybercrime and its ever-more prevalent threat to colleges, businesses, governments, and individuals alike. This article aims to introduce bad cyber actors, locate various hotspots around the world and highlight the significance of cybercrime as a prelude to the series. In order to understand cyber threats and capabilities, it is necessary to first identify various types of bad cyber actors. 

Black Hat Hackers

Like the hooded hackers depicted in films, black hat hackers are the stereotypical and most well-known bad cyber actors. These hackers have the ability to attack anything from industrial plants to banks and retail companies. Black hats often have their own agenda or are contracted for their services. 

Hacktivists

Hacktivists are individuals or groups who employ their hacking skills to bolster political or social agendas and often aim to disrupt individuals, organizations or institutions who  oppose their views. This bad cyber actor or threat actor frequently leaks sensitive private and government information, including classified documents, hacks websites and exposes information that governments, companies or organizations aim to keep hidden from the public.

Cybercriminals

Cybercriminals are individuals who use malware, ransomware and other malicious tools to steal sensitive company data and extort money from organizations. It is important to note while various hacking techniques are often used in cybercrime to obtain the information desired, not all hackers are cybercriminals. Just as gardeners can  be grouped into those who grow plants for personal enjoyment and those focused on commercial farming for profit, hackers can also be categorized by their motivations. 

Script Kiddies

Individuals who use pre-existing malware or hacking tools to launch attacks are known as script kiddies. Script kiddies are notably different from other hackers because of their lack of technical prowess. These individuals often do not have the programming knowledge and understanding of the underlying technology used before they begin hacking. While many hacking and security programs created by skilled programmers are available online, when used by less experienced individuals like script kiddies, they can become quite dangerous. The process of attribution is often more difficult as a result. 

Nation-State Actors

Nation-state actors can also conduct, condone and sponsor bad cyber activities. In other words, this kind of activity can originate from nation-states like Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) and China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA). These states often contract and sponsor black hat hackers and cybercriminals to carry out their objectives. This arrangement can provide financial benefits and often protection from law enforcement to the individuals involved, while providing the sponsoring nation-state with plausible deniability. 

We see this on a vast scale in today’s cyber climate. Adversaries such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, however, are particularly well-known for their Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) activity. APT is a prolonged, sophisticated cyberattack where an intruder secretly infiltrates a network to steal sensitive data over time without detection. These attacks are meticulously designed to penetrate the targeted organization, circumvent existing security measures and remain undetected. Through APTs, government-sponsored entities engage in cyber espionage, sabotage or other malicious activities with the intent to gain a strategic advantage, steal data or disrupt the operations and network/systems of other nations. Consequently, this type of activity poses a substantial threat to Western infrastructure. 

Bad cyber actors operate from anywhere in the world but there are a number of factors that make certain regions more desirable than others to conduct their operations from. For example, Russia, Eastern European countries, China, Iran, Nigeria, Southeast Asia  and Brazil are hotbeds for bad cyber actors due to their lack of cybersecurity regulations, limited law enforcement capabilities, absence of extradition treaties, economic factors  and political motivations. These factors facilitate favorable conditions for cybercrime since poorly enforced cybersecurity laws and lack of expertise in law enforcement hinder the likelihood for bad cyber actors to be apprehended and prosecuted effectively. 

The complexity of jurisdiction is the number one reason why prosecuting cybercrime is so difficult. Digital miscreants often operate from outside the victim’s country–or at least outside the legal jurisdiction of the court and prosecutors pursuing the conviction–making it difficult to bring them to justice. Prosecuting a cybercriminal in the victim's jurisdiction is challenging due to the actor's remote and nefarious activities, and the difficulty increases when the perpetrator and victim are in different locations. While these bad cyber actors can operate in nations such as the United States and those in Western Europe, digital miscreants are more likely to successfully dodge prosecution in states with economic turmoil. The combination of these factors creates an opportunistic environment where bad cyber actors can operate with relative impunity, making the locations listed above prime hotbeds for malicious cyber activities. 

The effects of cybercrime have proven increasingly significant on a global scale. In December 2019, the United Nations voted to establish a cybercrime treaty to combat emerging cyber threats. In fact, the first meeting of the treaty on Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications  Technologies for Criminal Purposes was held in 2022 amid concerns that it could expand government regulation of online content, criminalize free expression and threaten privacy. Nonetheless, cybercrime incidents continue to rise and so do the associated global damage costs. The World Economic Forum reported that the cost of cybercrime damages has the potential to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. In light  of the current landscape, it is critical to build up defenses against threats and shield against potential data breaches and associated costs. Subsequent articles will provide insights for colleges, businesses and cybersecurity professionals, highlighting various hotspots for malicious cyber actors and looming threats. 

Article 1 tackles Russia’s cyber underworld and its intricate web of cyber activity from hackers to state-sponsored threats. 

Notes

 1 “Bad Actors in Cybersecurity - the Rogue Gallery,” HackControl, February 3, 2021. https://hackcontrol.org/cases/bad-actors-in-cybersecurity/. 

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid. 

4 “Cybercriminals,” Trend Micro, n.d. https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/definition/cybercriminals. 

5 Putman, Patrick, “Script Kiddie: Unskilled Amateur or Dangerous Hackers?” United States Cybersecurity Magazine, September 14, 2018. https://www.uscybersecurity.net/script-kiddie/. 

6 Ibid.

7 Lenaerts-Bergmans, Bart, “What Is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)?” CrowdStrike, February 28, 2023. https://www.crowdstrike.com/cybersecurity-101/advanced-persistent-threat-apt/. 

8 “Nation-State Cyber Actors,” Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA, n.d. https://www.cisa.gov/topics/cyber-threats-and-advisories/nation-state-cyber-actors. 

9 Grimes, Roger, “Why It’s so Hard to Prosecute Cyber Criminals,” CSO Online, December 6, 2016. https://www.csoonline.com/article/559099/why-its-so-hard-to-prosecute-cyber-criminals.html. 

10 Ibid.

11 Ibid. 

12 “A UN Treaty on Cybercrime En Route,” United Nations: Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, June 23, 2022. https://unric.org/en/a-un-treaty-on-cybercrime-en-route/. 

13 “Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes,” United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime, n.d. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/cybercrime/ad_hoc_committee/home. 

14 Muggah, Robert, and Mac Margolis, “Why We Need Global Rules to Crack Down on Cybercrime,” World Economic Forum, January 2, 2023. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/global-rules-crack-down-cybercrime/.