“It is finally sinking through. 46% OF PEOPLE BELIEVE MAJOR NATIONAL NEWS ORGS FABRICATE STORIES ABOUT ME … The Fake News is going all out in order to demean and denigrate!” tweeted US President Donald Trump. Is ‘fake news’ used just for political purposes?
Influencing share prices
Cybercriminals use fake news to make money. They have latched onto the notion of “fake news” and turned it into a profitable business model, with services starting at under $10, security researchers say
It would be wrong to assume that the “sole target of disinformation campaigns are the electorate and political parties,” writes research analyst Michael Marriott. As it is quite easy to access such tools, cybercriminals can write fake reports slandering a company and even influence their share prices
Investing in dark web services
For example, ‘TheInsider’ is a dark web service that encourages users to invest in their scheme. The service looks to manipulate interest in cryptocurrencies to pump up the price and sell shares for profit, adds Marriott who works for the security firm Digital Shadows
‘Art Doyle’ writes
In July, a person using the pseudonym “Art Doyle” released online ‘reports’ attacking several biotech companies. This was an effort to undermine investor confidence in those companies and profit from an ensuing drop in their stock prices, writes Steve Brozak, the president of WBB Securities, an American investment management company