The chat service Telegram has been increasingly used by criminals to distribute illegal imagery such as sex videos and child pornography since the corona pandemic, KPN security's research team discovered when they spent 90 days looking into more than 100 channels of the popular chat service.
KPN Security watched 106 channels for 90 days where a large amount of illegal content was offered.
In addition to shocking content previously found only on the darkweb, KPN Security also discovered a new form of sextortion: dating sextortion. In this new form of extortion, criminals make an online sex appointment via Telegram. They then film the victims without permission. These images are then distributed in various groups on Telegram. These groups sometimes have thousands of members.
Telegram is seen as a more secure alternative to WhatsApp and is therefore increasingly used. The popular chat service has a low-threshold nature. According to KPN Security, this is the cause of criminal activity on the chat service. It is also very easy for Telegram users to hide their identity. To create an account on Telegram, you only need to download the app and provide a phone number. This makes it difficult to track cybercriminals.
Telegram threatens to become a low-threshold alternative to the dark web. So concludes KPN Security. On Telegram, links are also shared to pages on the darkweb with very shocking content. For example, pages are shared that involve human trafficking or (fake) murder videos.
KPN Security wants to warn curious users not only about traumatic images, but also about the criminal nature of these groups. Through Telegram, illegal content can be automatically downloaded onto a user's device. With this criminal content on your cell phone, you risk fines and jail time.
