“When things move fast, people make mistakes and it costs them money”

Next to the Fiorano track, the small circuit inside the Maranello factory on which Ferrari tests its F1 cars every winter, the noise is deafening. “When things move too fast, people make mistakes,” he explains. Bogdan Botezaturesearch director of bitdefenderone of the largest cybersecurity companies in the world. Botezatu could refer to the sports cars that, right at that moment, are spinning around the circuit without stopping. But he’s actually talking about something else.

Last month, Bitdefender released its first Cybersecurity Grand Prix Fan Threat Indexan elaborate study of the risks and threats that spectators of sports around the world, including F1, face every weekend. The purpose of the investigation is simple: to show the multiple tools that hackers have around them to violate the privacy of viewers and, in the most extreme cases, raid their bank account.

“Frauds are evolving. Last year, cybercrime had a turnover of around 9 billion (trillion in English) of dollars globally. Of those 9 billion, only 1 billion came from the scamming“explains Botezatu. His index aims to monitor how scams evolve. In the middle of the Soccer World Cupwith millions of viewers glued to their mobile phone screens every day, the phenomenon is more current than ever.

Bitdefender, however, focuses on another area: motorsports. For years, the company has collaborated closely with Ferrari, whom it sponsors and offers cybersecurity solutions for its F1 team. This is no small matter: Ferrari, like all other F1 teams, jealously protects its technical findings. Industrial espionage has always been the order of the day in a competitive environment. With Bitdefender, Ferrari aims to limit damage in today’s highly digitalized environment.

“If you look at what happens to large companies, they are constantly being attacked by ransomwareintellectual property theft, infiltrations… But they are protected, they have their own cybersecurity teams, they can protect their perimeters, they can service their infrastructure, they have agreements with companies like Bitdefender. They are protected,” Botezatu points out. We are not, he implicitly suggests.

“Things at home are fundamentally different,” he continues, “spectators watching F1 or other motor sports don’t have these safety nets, they aren’t even aware of the risks of cybercrime.” When we sit in front of the television to watch an F1 race or a soccer match, we focus on sport. The only problem is that on the other side of the screen there is a army of scammers and hackers trying to take advantage of the show. To take it out at our expense.

The range of tools available to scam us is wide. From merchandise from smuggling (fake t-shirts, accessories, jackets, caps; in the case of football teams, t-shirts) to fraud in the purchase of tickets (often with juicy and pompous “last minute” offers), passing through the ecosystems of streaming. Much of Bitdefender’s talk emphasizes this last aspect.

How it works

The order of the factors is almost always the same: before a big event, such as an F1 GP or a football tournament, there is an uptick in fraud due to illegal tickets, in addition to a growth in fake advertisements. merchandising. During the celebration of the event, the numbers increase exponentially. streaming malicious, in most cases disappearing at the end of the show. After the race or the game, the scam in the form of highlights or surveys that give rise to abuse.

“In the case of motorsports, its ecosystems are dominated by speed. You have to sell or buy tickets quickly, you have to find a service streamingyou have to find legitimate stores merchandising. If there are mistakes, they cost money,” Botezatu reasons. “And there is also an emotional investment during the weekends,” he adds, pointing to the impetuous, nervous and effusive aspect of the sports fan. It’s not just about watching an F1 race or a soccer match: you want be part of itso decision making is sometimes conditioned.

One of the advantages of protecting users during sporting events is that the behavior of cybercriminals is predictable. The scammers They know that the activity is concentrated during the weekends on Telegram or Discord channels and on streaming unofficial. There are suspicious VPNs, aggressive ads, fake subscriptions and a long list of mechanisms to capture our attention and surprise us.

Its operation, in the case of streamingis always the same:

1. First there is amplification on social media: Telegram channels, Facebook groups, Discord servers and Reddit discussions.
2. Then direct monetization is sought: unlock payments, force interactions with ads, redirect users, push notifications push. He streaming of the race is secondary.
3. And finally, the infrastructure is disposable: domains that appear and disappear just before and after the race often use the “cc” domain.

Another problem identified by Bitdefender is the services of streaming of Android. We talk about applications like Playfy TV and Cricfy TV. According to them, they require installing APKs and are risky.

At the same time, all this It is related to the “streaming boxes” offered by Chinese companies, specifically BADBOX 2.0. They put malware on Android, phones, tablets and much more. Its impact is very high, they seek compromise devices before even reaching the consumer. Using this technology we open our devices to the enemy, according to Botezatu, who specifically focuses on this mechanism.

He streaming sports is fundamentally based on Discord servers, Telegram channels and communication systems. backup They work by invitation. The references of streaming They are deleted after the races, the servers are migrated and there is a very high link rotation that makes it impossible to chase them or protect against them effectively. For all this, the Bitdefender expert insists, it is very important to be aware of the risks involved. His summary is very simple: if you have to install something, a bad sign.

Given the location of the talk, in the heart of a racing circuit, and the orientation of Bitdefender, sponsor of an F1 team, it is natural to suspect that his efforts are aimed at motor sports fans. and your Fan Thread Indexin part, walks in that direction. But Botezatu is clear that the problem is much broader: “F1 fans are only a small percentage of the total fans who can lose their money. Cybercriminals set all kinds of targets: football, paintball, karting… Anything you can imagine. They have a niche. They have specialized.”

In the midst of the World Cup and with the F1 season in full swing, we would do well to address your concerns.

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Image | Xataka/Bitdefender