Killnet Involvement In Darknet Markets

Killnet Involvement In Darknet Markets

Product Serial: B-2022-10-19a

TLP:CLEAR

In this brief, ZeroFox Intelligence provides detail on activities by pro-Russian hacktivist group Killnet and their involvement with the Solaris Market.

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Scope Note

ZeroFox Intelligence is derived from a variety of sources, including—but not limited to—curated open-source accesses, vetted social media, proprietary data sources, and direct access to threat actors and groups through covert communication channels. Information relied upon to complete any report cannot always be independently verified. As such, ZeroFox applies rigorous analytic standards and tradecraft in accordance with best practices and includes caveat language and source citations to clearly identify the veracity of our Intelligence reporting and substantiate our assessments and recommendations. All sources used in this particular Intelligence product were identified prior to 10:00 AM (EDT) on October 17, 2022; per cyber hygiene best practices, caution is advised when clicking on any third-party links.

Executive Summary

Killnet has been one of the most vocal threat actor groups since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The pro-Russian hacktivist collective, identified as early as January 2022, initially sold Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) tools as part of a subscription model. After the Ukrainian Anonymous hacking collective expressed public support for Ukraine in February 2022, Killnet declared war on the collective and changed from being a cybercriminal service provider to a hacktivist group. Killnet is dissimilar to well-known, Russia-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, as the group is not as efficient; unsophisticated; lies about targets and intentions, as well as about its success in attacking targets; and manipulates its audience regarding the help the group receives from alleged sympathetic actors. Killnet is most successful at spreading pro-Russian propaganda and drumming up attention for its purported activities—which are also being propagated by actors on darknet drug market Solaris Market, among others.