Remember just how a few months ago, Telegram along with Signal became the most downloaded online messaging platform when WhatsApp was boycotted by the public because of the new policy they launched. Well, from the looks of it, it now seems that Telegram would want to check what goes on their platform before they announce how safe their platform is. Why is that, keep on reading below.
Telegram which appears to be generally a safe and encrypted messaging platform from the outside, just got busted because of the atrocities that goes in it. It has been revealed through some investigations that was conducted by cybersecurity researchers which enlightens us that Telegram is being used as a platform for hackers and cybercriminals where they can easily share data of millions of people on the groups and channels of the platform. Apart from this, VPN service providers known as VPNMentor also mentioned that through their study they have also concluded that Telegram is acting as a safe haven where hackers can easily share data of people and lure them into the net of online frauds and hacking, and this can be very unsafe if it keeps going on.
While these two were slightly older reports, another new and very recent research has been conducted by NortonLifeLock which further found that Telegram is not just being used as a base camp to spread and misuse user data but also is being used as an illegal market. The groups and channels on Telegram have over thousands of participants who are taking part in illegal purchases of data, products, Fake Ids, Pirated software and at such crucial times even vaccines are being sold illegally, which is a crime if you take it by law.
So how did the researchers found all this? And what is being sold on such groups?
To uncover such fraudulent activities some members from the research team joined the groups and channels on Telegrams carrying out such activities and to their surprise some groups had over 10000 members. What shocked them the most was that data and information of users was being literally thrown on the groups along with the ways they can be manipulated and exploited.
But the question is that if Dark Web is already present for criminals to carry out such acts, why are they acting out all this on Telegram?
Well, the thing is that Telegram has a better advantage for criminals to hold such activities firstly because it has encrypted chats and a privacy policy to protect its users. Secondly, their barrier of entry is lower when compared to the dark web and this way it is harder for them to be taken down by the Distributed Denial of Service unlike when they carry the same activities on the web.
Telegram really needs to work on this before some severe damage takes place.
Photo: Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Read next: Study Shows Vast Majority of Millennials Want to Continue Working from Home After Pandemic
Telegram which appears to be generally a safe and encrypted messaging platform from the outside, just got busted because of the atrocities that goes in it. It has been revealed through some investigations that was conducted by cybersecurity researchers which enlightens us that Telegram is being used as a platform for hackers and cybercriminals where they can easily share data of millions of people on the groups and channels of the platform. Apart from this, VPN service providers known as VPNMentor also mentioned that through their study they have also concluded that Telegram is acting as a safe haven where hackers can easily share data of people and lure them into the net of online frauds and hacking, and this can be very unsafe if it keeps going on.
While these two were slightly older reports, another new and very recent research has been conducted by NortonLifeLock which further found that Telegram is not just being used as a base camp to spread and misuse user data but also is being used as an illegal market. The groups and channels on Telegram have over thousands of participants who are taking part in illegal purchases of data, products, Fake Ids, Pirated software and at such crucial times even vaccines are being sold illegally, which is a crime if you take it by law.
So how did the researchers found all this? And what is being sold on such groups?
To uncover such fraudulent activities some members from the research team joined the groups and channels on Telegrams carrying out such activities and to their surprise some groups had over 10000 members. What shocked them the most was that data and information of users was being literally thrown on the groups along with the ways they can be manipulated and exploited.
But the question is that if Dark Web is already present for criminals to carry out such acts, why are they acting out all this on Telegram?
Well, the thing is that Telegram has a better advantage for criminals to hold such activities firstly because it has encrypted chats and a privacy policy to protect its users. Secondly, their barrier of entry is lower when compared to the dark web and this way it is harder for them to be taken down by the Distributed Denial of Service unlike when they carry the same activities on the web.
Telegram really needs to work on this before some severe damage takes place.
Photo: Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Read next: Study Shows Vast Majority of Millennials Want to Continue Working from Home After Pandemic
