A former cybercriminal who once worked with - and betrayed - the Secret Service...
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the Secret Service says the easy access to bots is one of the biggest threats on the internet right nowA former cybercriminal who once worked with - and betrayed - the Secret Service says the easy access to bots is one of the biggest threats on the internet right now
A former cybercriminal who once worked with - and betrayed - the Secret Service warns about bad actors online.
Brett Shannon Johnson says he worries that cybercriminals have access to more sophisticated tools than ever.
Johnson was once an informant for the Secret Service but continued committing identity theft on their dime.
A former cybercriminal who once worked with - and betrayed - the Secret Service warned that internet hackers have access to more sophisticated tools than ever, and he thinks they're more motivated to steal as the economic picture gets worse.
Brett Shannon Johnson is now the chief criminal officer at Arkose Labs, a fraud prevention company. He told Insider he worries that shady corners of the web, like bot marketplace The Genesis Market, have made it easier for inexperienced criminals to commit complicated financial crimes.
"You've got sophisticated tools that 98% of cybercriminals simply don't use, and what scares me right now is we're seeing that change [to more use]," Johnson said.
Johnson says these bot marketplaces can deliver everything a low-level hacker would need to commit complicated financial crimes.
"When you visit a Genesis Market, you can search for the target that you're wanting to get. Chase, Bank of America, Google, Walmart .... you can search for the target. It will deliver the bots that are accessing credentials for that target… So I buy the bot, and the bot delivers everything that I need," Johnson added.
It's likely not too difficult for Johnson to get inside the mindset of a cybercriminal. In 2005, he was arrested for internet fraud and agreed to work with the Secret Service as an informant. During his time working for the Secret Service, Johnson continued to break the law, committing identity theft online and stealing thousands of dollars before getting caught and arrested again.
"I finally served out my time, and I'm given the opportunity of turning my life around, which I took, thankfully," Johnson said.
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