Cybercriminals obtain these records by compromising the systems of hospitals or academic institutions
According to cybersecurity experts from the International Institute of Cyber Security, several groups of cybercriminals are focused on stealing personal records of thousands of children, information stored by schools or children medical attention institutions, for the purpose of selling them in some market in the dark web.
The information is reported to include children full names, addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers and birth dates.
The reports also emphasize that cybersecurity researchers found that hackers seek more personal information from children born between the years 2000 and 2010.
As for the value of this information in the dark web forums, it can be depending on the content. By individual records, a hacker can get up to $10 USD, while the larger volumes of information reach numbers of between $490 to $800 USD, depending on the forum in which these records are offered.
Emily Wilson, a cybersecurity specialist, has been warning multiple companies and organizations about this malicious activity for a while. However, most of the stolen records are already or have been available in a number of very popular dark web forums. In many of these markets, information is identified with the tag ‘USA KIDS FULLZ’.
“It is reasonable to think that cybercriminals gain access to these data through some point of access to the computer infrastructure of hospitals or government systems. In the case of the file identified as ‘USA KIDS FULLZ ‘, the seller claims that the records have been extracted from a hospital network,” said the specialist.
Wilson believes there is an enormous probability that stolen information will be used as part of a credit scam scheme. “Children affected by this data breach should be between 8 and 18 years of age, they may not be involved in any financial activity. Hackers take advantage of this to use their data and open bank accounts to their name”, she added.
In further details on this research, hackers post their ads on dark web forums promoting them as “information belonging to children of good families, who can provide and pay expensive medical services”.
According to specialists in cybersecurity, the trade in personal data of minors could become a serious problem in the future. As a child grows, their data begins to circulate more broadly, either on the Internet or in government services, so they are increasingly vulnerable to some form of fraud.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
