Kazakhstan is in the top three leaders of the CIS dark web: what lies behind the veil of secrecy, and what goods are sold in the shadows?

A recent study showed that the Republic of Kazakhstan ranks second in the number of cyberattacks among CIS countries, accounting for 8% of the total. The most vulnerable sector was the media, which accounted for 19% of the attacks. Most of these attacks (65%) were related to malware, resulting in the leakage of confidential information in 35% of cases.

Cybercriminals are showing great interest in Kazakhstan, as evidenced by numerous ads on the dark web. The Republic ranks third in the number of mentions among CIS countries. The most common advertisements are for the sale of fake documents (48%) and money laundering services (38%). Prices for fake documents range from $7 to $2,700 USD.

Besides the media, cybercriminals also target government institutions (12%), financial organizations (12%), and telecommunications companies (7%). Kazakhstan is among the top three CIS countries where the telecommunications sector is most attacked. For example, in February 2024, it was revealed that cybercriminals had controlled the infrastructure of Kazakhstani telecommunications operators for more than two years.

Attackers most often try to steal personal and account data using malware such as RedLine, Vidar, Raccoon, and AZORult. The stolen information can be used in subsequent attacks or sold on the dark web, where databases of CIS residents range in price from $100 to $50,000 USD.

In 74% of cases, malware enters victims' computers through phishing emails. For example, in December 2023, a phishing email was sent to a Kazakhstani government agency, aiming to infect it with the SugarGh0st trojan. Social engineering methods were used in 53% of attacks. In June 2024, Positive Technologies specialists discovered a phishing email offering an employee of a Kazakhstani organization to update their password via an attached HTML file. Upon entering the new password, the data was redirected to cybercriminals.