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Some advertisements cite the UK Cybersecurity Challenge initiative.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) of Great Britain launched an advertising campaign aimed at distracting children from the search for illegal services and malicious tools in the field of cybercrime.
According to information security expert Brian Krebs, using the British IP-address when Google searches for certain terms related to cybercrime, for example, DDoS-like service, boosters, stressors or Trojans for remote access (RAT), the user can see an advertisement paid by the agency.
The NCA opted for ads indicating the illegality of using DDoS-as-a-service or RAT. However, instead of just discouraging users from illegal actions, the agency also uses an advertising campaign to attract young people to cybersecurity.
For example, some advertisements cite the Cybersecurity Challenge initiative in the UK, inviting “talented young people” to participate in cybersecurity games, competitions and workshops.
According to NCA senior manager David Cox, the ad is based on the 2017 NCA's Pathways into cybercrime report and targets men aged 13 to 22. According to the report, the main motivators for joining the community of cybercriminals are “achievements, trials and self-training”, and not financial gain.
According to Cox, the advertising campaign was very successful and allowed to receive more than 5.3 million impressions and more than 57 thousand clicks in the last 30 days. The NCA is currently seeking additional funding sources to expand the advertising campaign.
This is far from the first attempt by the British police to prevent cybercrime through advertising. Recall that in February this year, the regional department for the fight against organized crime in the West Midlands (UK) issued a poster in which it recommended that parents contact law enforcement officers if their child installed Kali Linux OS, a virtual machine, Tor browser on their personal computer, Metasploit software or Discord messenger.
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The National Crime Agency (NCA) of Great Britain launched an advertising campaign aimed at distracting children from the search for illegal services and malicious tools in the field of cybercrime.
According to information security expert Brian Krebs, using the British IP-address when Google searches for certain terms related to cybercrime, for example, DDoS-like service, boosters, stressors or Trojans for remote access (RAT), the user can see an advertisement paid by the agency.
The NCA opted for ads indicating the illegality of using DDoS-as-a-service or RAT. However, instead of just discouraging users from illegal actions, the agency also uses an advertising campaign to attract young people to cybersecurity.
For example, some advertisements cite the Cybersecurity Challenge initiative in the UK, inviting “talented young people” to participate in cybersecurity games, competitions and workshops.
According to NCA senior manager David Cox, the ad is based on the 2017 NCA's Pathways into cybercrime report and targets men aged 13 to 22. According to the report, the main motivators for joining the community of cybercriminals are “achievements, trials and self-training”, and not financial gain.
According to Cox, the advertising campaign was very successful and allowed to receive more than 5.3 million impressions and more than 57 thousand clicks in the last 30 days. The NCA is currently seeking additional funding sources to expand the advertising campaign.
This is far from the first attempt by the British police to prevent cybercrime through advertising. Recall that in February this year, the regional department for the fight against organized crime in the West Midlands (UK) issued a poster in which it recommended that parents contact law enforcement officers if their child installed Kali Linux OS, a virtual machine, Tor browser on their personal computer, Metasploit software or Discord messenger.
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