New report into dark web card leaks

Out of 6 million cards being sold for £5.50 each on the dark web, 4 million had personal information attached, according to a new report by NordVPN and Dr Garfield Benjamin from Solent University, Southampton.

NordVPN, a global provider of cyber security solutions, had access to a dataset of 6 million cards found on the dark web. Garfield was asked to bring insights from research into social aspects of technology, to provide context and analysis of the stolen card data.

“We are expected to trust our banks, services, retailers and other online organisations with our sensitive information. But breaches and hacks can have a huge impact on individuals and society without most people realising,” says Garfield.

The report found that 168,000 stolen cards were from the UK out of the almost 6,000,000 in total in the dataset. While this is only 2.8%, it places UK in third place for most cards. Cards from the US dominated the market (58.1%), while cards from Russia and China were among the lowest risk. Garfield's analysis showed the role of cultural factors and perceptions in these figures.

The US is seen as a prime target, while many organised hacker operations are based in places like Russia and China, so there is geopolitics at work.

Many of the cards were leaked for free from large scale hacks, but 2.5 million were available for sale, for an average of around £5.50 each. This meant the total dataset could be worth upwards of £14 million.

It wasn't only card details that the project found. Over 60% came with additional data, from contact details to date of birth and social security information.

“This means that the risk of data breaches is not only financial but gets to the core of our very identities. If our information is freely available or for sale on the dark web, the potential for financial fraud quickly escalates into full identity theft with increasing repercussions, often for the most vulnerable,” says Garfield.

This research is part of an ongoing collaboration between Garfield and NordVPN’s research lab, who are working to highlight how available tools can mitigate the potential harms to individuals while also providing education and awareness on the often hidden implications of having so much of our lives online.  You can read the full report here.

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Dr Garfield Benjamin is a senior lecturer in sociology at Solent University, teaching issues of data, technology, media, power, identity and society. Prior to joining Solent, they worked at the Birmingham Centre for Cyber Security and Privacy, after completing a PhD in Digital Technology Theory and Practice at the University of Wolverhampton.

Garfield’s research focuses on societal issues with technology, with particular interests in how our identities are constructed with and through technologies, as well as the many forms of injustice that are produced through the inequitable ways technology is used in society.  He has a forthcoming book on issues of trust.