Russian Speaking Countries Maintain the Largest Malware Marketplace

The Wall Street Journal digs into a fast-growing worldwide Cybercrime issue.

Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre supported 131 successful cyber operations last year, up from 72 operations in 2014, the agency said in a new report.

Enterprising malware designers provide their tools to a vast criminal network…. There is evidence, in some cases, of a forensic trail that can connect cyber criminals with state-sponsored cyber espionage.

In Europe, western officials said the cyber attacks have become more intense.

The Europol report identified multiple trends, from growing use of ransomware to payment fraud.

Cybercriminals are continuing to expand their use of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, for ransom and extortion payments.

Russia and Russian-speaking countries maintain the largest marketplaces for the kinds of malware and other tools used by criminal hackers, but the report says Germany is a growing source too.