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Stolen Credentials Selling on Dark Web for Price of 3 Litres of Fuel – Report

HP has released The Evolution of Cybercrime: Why the Dark Web is Supercharging the Threat Landscape and How to Fight Back – an HP Wolf Security Report.

The findings show cybercrime is being supercharged through “plug and play” malware kits that make it easier than ever to launch attacks. Cyber syndicates are collaborating with amateur attackers to target businesses, putting our online world at risk.
The HP Wolf Security threat team worked with Forensic Pathways, a leading group of global forensic professionals, on a three-month dark web investigation, scraping and analysing over 35 million cybercriminal marketplaces and forum posts to understand how cybercriminals operate, gain trust, and build reputation.
Key findings include:
– Malware is cheap and readily available – Over three quarters (76%) of malware advertisements listed, and 91% of exploits (i.e., code that gives attackers control over systems by taking advantage of software bugs), retail for under ₦4,923.17. The average cost of compromised Remote Desktop Protocol credentials is just ₦2,092.35.
Vendors are selling products in bundles, with plug-and-play malware kits, malware-as-a-service, tutorials, and mentoring services reducing the need for technical skills and experience to conduct complex, targeted attacks – in fact, just 2-3% of threat actors today are advanced coders.
-The irony of ‘honor amongst cyber-thieves’ – Much like the legitimate online retail world, trust and reputation are ironically essential parts of cybercriminal commerce: 77% of cybercriminal marketplaces analysed require a vendor bond – a license to sell – which can cost up to ₦1,230,793.
Eighty-five per cent of these use escrow payments, and 92% have a third-party dispute resolution service. Every marketplace provides vendor feedback scores. Cybercriminals also try to stay a step ahead of law enforcement by transferring reputation between websites – as the average lifespan of a dark net Tor website is only 55 days.
– Popular software is giving cybercriminals a foot in the door – Cybercriminals are focusing on finding gaps in software that will allow them to get a foothold and take control of systems by targeting known bugs and vulnerabilities in popular software.
Examples include the Windows operating system, Microsoft Office, web content management systems, and web and mail servers. Kits that exploit vulnerabilities in niche systems command the highest prices (typically ranging from ₦393,853.76 – ₦1,723,110.20). Zero Days (vulnerabilities that are not yet publicly known) are retailing at tens of thousands of dollars on dark web markets.
“Unfortunately, it’s never been easier to be a cybercriminal. Complex attacks previously required serious skills, knowledge and resource. Now the technology and training is available for the price of 3 litres of fuel.
“And whether it’s having your company and customer data exposed, deliveries delayed or even a hospital appointment cancelled, the explosion in cybercrime affects us all,” comments report author Alex Holland, Senior Malware Analyst at HP Inc.
“At the heart of this is ransomware, which has created a new cybercriminal ecosystem rewarding smaller players with a slice of the profits.
“This is creating a cybercrime factory line, churning out attacks that can be very hard to defend against and putting the businesses we all rely on in the crosshairs,” Holland adds.
HP consulted with a panel of experts from cybersecurity and academia – including ex-black hat hacker Michael ‘Mafia Boy’ Calce and authored criminologist, Dr. Mike McGuire – to understand how cybercrime has evolved and what businesses can do to better protect themselves against the threats of today and tomorrow.
They warned that businesses should prepare for destructive data denial attacks, increasingly targeted cyber campaigns, and cybercriminals using emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to challenge organisations’ data integrity.
To protect against current and future threats, the report offers up the following advice for businesses:
Master the basics to reduce cybercriminals’ chances: Follow best practices, such as multi-factor authentication and patch management; reduce your attack surface from top attack vectors like email, web browsing and file downloads; and prioritise self-healing hardware to boost resilience.
Focus on winning the game: plan for the worst; limit risk posed by your people and partners by putting processes in place to vet supplier security and educate workforces on social engineering; and be process-oriented and rehearse responses to attacks so you can identify problems, make improvements and be better prepared.
Cybercrime is a team sport. Cybersecurity must be too: talk to your peers to share threat information and intelligence in real-time; use threat intelligence and be proactive in horizon scanning by monitoring open discussions on underground forums; and work with third-party security services to uncover weak spots and critical risks that need addressing.
“We all need to do more to fight the growing cybercrime machine,” says Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP Inc. “For individuals, this means becoming cyber aware.
Most attacks start with a click of a mouse, so thinking before you click is always important. But giving yourself a safety net by buying technology that can mitigate and recover from the impact of bad clicks is even better.”
“For businesses, it’s important to build resiliency and shut off as many common attack routes as possible,” Pratt continues.
“For example, cybercriminals study patches on release to reverse engineer the vulnerability being patched and can rapidly create exploits to use before organisations have patched. So, speeding up patch management is important.
“Many of the most common categories of threat such as those delivered via email and the web can be fully neutralised through techniques such as threat containment and isolation, greatly reducing an organisation’s attack surface regardless of whether the vulnerabilities are patched or not.”
News
OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health

OpenAI maker of ChatGPT is rolling out a health-focused feature to the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that’s used by nearly a billion users.

Named ChatGPT Health, the new feature aims to provide users with health and wellness information. This, as health is one of the most common ways people use ChatGPT, according to OpenAI.
In a blog post, Microsoft-backed OpenAI says de-identified analysis of conversations show that over 230 million people globally ask health and wellness-related questions on ChatGPT every week.
ChatGPT Health will also “securely” connect medical records and wellness apps to ground conversations with a user’s own health information, making responses more relevant and useful.
“Designed in close collaboration with physicians, ChatGPT Health helps people take a more active role in understanding and managing their health and wellness – while supporting, not replacing, care from clinicians.”
According to OpenAI, health information is often scattered across portals, apps, wearables, PDFs, and medical notes making it hard to see the full picture, and people are left to navigate a complex healthcare system on their own.
“ChatGPT Health builds on these so responses are informed by your health information and context. You can now securely connect medical records and wellness apps – like Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal – so ChatGPT can help you understand recent test results, prepare for appointments with your doctor, get advice on how to approach your diet and workout routine, or understand the trade-offs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns.”
According to the company, ChatGPT Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care, adding that it is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. “Instead, it helps you navigate everyday questions and understand patterns over time – not just moments of illness – so you can feel more informed and prepared for important medical conversations.
“To keep your health information protected and secure, Health operates as a separate space with enhanced privacy to protect sensitive data. Conversations in Health are not used to train our foundation models. If you start a health-related conversation in ChatGPT, we’ll suggest moving into Health for these additional protections.”
OpenAI adds that access to ChatGPT Health has started with a small group of early users to learn and continue refining the experience, adding that users with ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK are eligible.
“As we make improvements, we plan to expand access and make Health available to all users on web and iOS in the coming weeks.
“Medical record integrations and some apps are available in the US only, and connecting Apple Health requires iOS.”
News
Kaspersky Shares AI Cybersecurity Predictions for 2026

Kaspersky experts outline how the rapid development of AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape in 2026, both for individual users and for businesses. Large language models (LLMs) are influencing defensive capabilities while simultaneously expanding opportunities for threat actors.

Deepfakes are becoming a mainstream technology, and awareness will continue to grow. Companies are increasingly discussing the risks of synthetic content and training employees to reduce the likelihood of falling victim to it. As the volume of deepfakes grows, so does the range of formats in which they appear.
At the same time, awareness is rising not only within organisations but also among regular users: end consumers encounter fake content more often and better understand the nature of such threats. As a result, deepfakes are becoming a stable element of the security agenda, requiring a systematic approach to training and internal policies.
Deepfake quality will improve through better audio and a lowering barrier to entry. The visual quality of deepfakes is already high, while realistic audio remains the main area for future growth.
At the same time, content generation tools are becoming easier to use: even non-experts can now create a mid-quality deepfake in just a few clicks. As a result, the average quality continues to rise, creation becomes accessible to a far broader audience, and these capabilities will inevitably continue to be leveraged by cybercriminals.
Online deepfakes will continue to evolve but remain tools for advanced users. Real-time face and voice swapping technologies are improving, but their setup still requires more advanced technical skills. Wide adoption is unlikely, yet the risks in targeted scenarios will grow: increasing realism and the ability to manipulate video through virtual cameras make such attacks more convincing.
Efforts to develop a reliable system for labelling AI-generated content will continue. There are still no unified criteria for reliably identifying synthetic content, and current labels are easy to bypass or remove, especially when working with open-source models. For this reason, new technical and regulatory initiatives aimed at addressing the problem are likely to emerge.
Open-weight models will approach top closed models in many cybersecurity-related tasks, which create more opportunities for misuse. Closed models still offer stricter control mechanisms and safeguards, limiting abuse.
However, open-source systems are rapidly catching up in functionality and circulate without comparable restrictions. This blurs the difference between proprietary models and open-source models both of which can be used efficiently for undesired or malicious purposes.
The line between legitimate and fraudulent AI-generated content will become increasingly blurred. AI can already produce well-crafted scam emails, convincing visual identities, and high-quality phishing pages.
At the same time, major brands are adopting synthetic materials in advertising, making AI-generated content look familiar and visually “normal.” As a result, distinguishing real from fake will become even more challenging, both for users and for automated detection systems.
AI will become a cross-chain tool in cyberattacks and be used across most stages of the kill chain. Threat actors already employ LLMs to write code, build infrastructure, and automate operational tasks.
Further advances will reinforce this trend: AI will increasingly support multiple stages of an attack, from preparation and communication to assembling malicious components, probing for vulnerabilities and deploying tools. Attackers will also work to hide signs of AI involvement, making such operations harder to analyse.
“While AI tools are being used in cyberattacks, they are also becoming a more common tool in security analysis and influence how SOC teams work. Agent-based systems will be able to continuously scan infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities, and gather contextual information for investigations, reducing the amount of manual routine work.
“As a result, specialists will shift from manually searching for data to making decisions based on already-prepared context. In parallel, security tools will transition to natural-language interfaces, enabling prompts instead of complex technical queries,” adds Vladislav Tushkanov, Research Development Group Manager at Kaspersky.
News
Nigerians with Albinism Reject Pity, Demand Dignity at Empowerment Forum

Nigerians living with albinism say their biggest challenge is not skin sensitivity or poor eyesight, but being seen, heard and treated as full human beings, a message that resonated at a recent empowerment session hosted by the Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF) and Albino Empowerment Foundation.

CADEF
The event last Saturday focused on lived experiences, self-advocacy and rights awareness rather than handouts, though participants received food, protective clothing and skin/eye care materials.
CADEF Executive Director, Prof. Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, said real progress requires respect and inclusion, not pity, adding that knowledge of human rights equips people to demand fairness.
“Dignity begins when people are seen fully and treated equally,” she said.
Ifeoma Ngesina, founder of Albino Empowerment Foundation, defined inclusion as equal rights and participation in decisions affecting their lives, not stereotypes.
“When persons with albinism are included in schools, workplaces, leadership and media, harmful myths fade,” she said, stressing it builds confidence and leadership.
CADEF Advisory Board Member, Ms Kobi Ikpo, urged participants to own their narrative: “If you do not tell people how to treat you, they will not know how to address you. Once you accept yourself as a complete human being deserving of respect, it reflects in how you carry yourself — and that confidence commands respect.”
Afolake Odudinu highlighted parental ignorance leading to school dropouts, skin damage from sun exposure and social/marital stigma, noting skin cancer treatment remains inaccessible for many.
Efosa Peter, a father and associate pastor, rejected pity for genuine empowerment: “I hate pity. I don’t want to be pitied — I want empowerment.” He described persons with albinism as creatively gifted and warned against insincere initiatives.
“Empowerment must include self-esteem and self-motivation. When you see yourself as whole, others will follow,” he said.
Teacher Rose Adudu shared overcoming school bullying through discipline and advocacy, helping enrol a young albino girl in school despite later parental withdrawal.
“Your character will speak for you,” she said.
Participants were encouraged to use content creation for education and myth-busting, with CADEF planning annual events and advancing Digital Financial Inclusion Rights for Persons With Disabilities.
The forum underscored a core demand: opportunity, understanding and respect over sympathy.
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