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BrianKrebsonMastodon20h ago
Suddenly seeing a renewed interest in the Com, or the "community" of English-speaking cybercrime cliques scattered across Telegram and Discord. The Financial Times reports teenagers carrying out sabotage and arson attacks in the UK were recruited by Russia and Iran on Telegram, Discord and gaming platforms. Some of those recruited were reportedly as young as 11.
I've been writing about Com-based cybercriminals and breaches for more than a decade, but it mostly felt like screaming into a void because law enforcement has until very recently completely dropped the ball on coming up with strategies to counter Com-based activity, and the non-stop criminal recruitment that occurs quite openly on gaming platforms like Roblox and Minecraft. The fact that nation states and our adversaries are now using these same criminal communities to carry out their agendas should surprise no one at this point.
https://archive.ph/LTBWZ
Trust Metrics
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75
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Accuracy82%
Framing75%
Context70%
Tone78%
Analysis Summary
Russia and Iran are recruiting teenagers as young as 11 through Telegram, Discord, and gaming platforms like Roblox and Minecraft to carry out sabotage, arson, and espionage across Europe, according to a Financial Times investigation confirmed by multiple outlets. This represents a documented escalation in how state actors are weaponizing criminal networks and vulnerable minors for geopolitical operations. Krebs notes law enforcement has been slow to develop counter-strategies against these recruitment tactics, despite the open nature of recruitment on mainstream gaming platforms.
Claims Analysis (3)
“The Financial Times reports teenagers carrying out sabotage and arson attacks in the UK were recruited by Russia and Iran on Telegram, Discord and gaming platforms.”
Financial Times investigation confirmed by multiple independent outlets. Russia and Iran recruitment of minors via social platforms corroborated across five search results including Financial Post, Politis, LIGA.net, Euronews, and Daily Star.
“Some of those recruited were reportedly as young as 11.”
Search results confirm recruitment of minors as young as 13 and younger (Daily Star references age 13 specifically, LIGA.net references 'young people'). Age 11 is unverified but plausible given confirmed recruitment of 13-year-olds.
“Nation states are now using criminal communities to carry out their agendas.”
Core claim directly confirmed by FT investigation and corroborating outlets. Russia and Iran using recruited teenagers for sabotage, arson, espionage, and other hostile acts across multiple European countries.
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