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About this paper
Estelle Ruellan, Francois Labreche, Masarah Paquet-Clouston
Researchers from Université de Montréal, Secureworks, and Flare developed a methodology to identify expert cybercrime actors by mapping Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) to Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classifications (CAPECs) and applying a criminological framework. Their analysis revealed that highly skilled and committed "Professional" actors constitute a mere 3.90% of the forum population, indicating a small, high-value target for cyber threat intelligence.
Key insights
- Cybercrime forum participants tend to specialize, forming identifiable communities of interest around specific attack patterns like Privilege Escalation or Cross-Site Scripting.
- "Professional" expert actors, characterized by high skill and commitment, represent a very small fraction (3.90%) of the analyzed cybercrime forum population.
- The majority of individuals in these forums are categorized as "Amateurs" (54.87%), highlighting the inefficiency of broad monitoring and the importance of focusing on true experts.
Summary by alphaXiv.
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