Database, source code allegedly related to bulletproof hosting, once Parler’s service provider, up for sale on hacker forum

Group-IB, a global threat hunting and adversary-centric cyber intelligence company specializing in investigating and preventing hi-tech cybercrimes, has discovered a database allegedly belonging to a bulletproof hosting provider DDoS-Guard posted for sale on a cybercrime forum on May 26. The database supposedly contains information about DDoS-Guard’s customers, including their names, IP-addresses, and payment information. In addition to the database, the threat actor claims to have the source code of the DDoS-Guard’s infrastructure. The seller is currently auctioning the entire set at a starting price of $350,000. It is not possible to verify the authenticity of the alleged stolen data, as the threat actor didn’t provide the sample.

DDoS-Guard is a Russian online infrastructure services provider that in January 2021 helped Parler, a social media app, to return online after it had been refused web hosting services on the AWS platform. According to Group-IB report on online piracy, DDoS-Guard also provides computing capacities and obstructs the identification of website owners of hundreds of shady resources that are engaged in illicit goods sale, gambling, and copyright infringements.

Group-IB Threat Intelligence & Attribution system detected the listing posted on May 26 on exploit[.]in, a popular hacker forum.

Initially, the threat actor was auctioning off the lot with a starting price of $500,000. Shortly after the amount was reduced to $350,000. The threat actor didn’t provide a sample of the database, which makes it impossible to verify the authenticity of the reported stolen database and the source code. The seller registered this account on exploit[.]in in January 2021 and has been looking to buy access to different corporate networks ever since. It is only the second time that they are trying to sell data on the forum. Despite the regular activity, the threat actor has no reputation on the forum and has made no deposits yet.

Oleg Dyorov

Threat Intelligence analyst at Group-IB

According to Group-IB Threat Intelligence & Attribution system, this user previously had an account on exploit[.]in but was banned by the forum administrators as he refused to use the escrow service.

DDoS-Guard, whose data is allegedly being traded on the hacker forum, provides DDoS protection, CDN and hosting services. «As an international certified emergency response team, we get to interact with dozens of hosting providers around the world every day to ensure violations are removed promptly. Whenever we establish a connection with this company, it immediately reflects a red flag. We’ve seen a number of rogue websites hosted by DDoS-Guard. They were almost impossible to take down. Their answer to our numerous complaints on them protecting illegal resources is that they are not the owners of these websites. Such a safe environment for illicit online activity doesn’t do any good for the global effort against cybercrime.

Reza Rafati

Senior analyst at CERT-GIB in Amsterdam