Bangkok, Thailand (Reuters) — According to a report by the United Nations, powerful criminal networks in Southeast Asia extensively use the messaging app Telegram, fundamentally changing the way organized crime conducts large-scale illegal activities.
The report is the latest accusation against the controversial encrypted application since France adopted a strict new law, unprecedented internationally, charging its CEO Pavel Durov with allowing criminal activities on the platform.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report states that hacked data, including credit card information, passwords, and browsing history, are openly traded on the app on a large scale, with channels spread everywhere, almost unregulated.
The report mentions that tools for cybercrime, including so-called deepfake software used for fraud and malware for data theft, are also widely sold, while unauthorized cryptocurrency exchanges offer money laundering services.
The report quotes a Chinese advertisement saying, "We transfer $3 million stolen from abroad every day."
The report states, "There is strong evidence that the underground data market is shifting towards Telegram, and suppliers are actively seeking targets, aiming at transnational organized crime groups in Southeast Asia."
Southeast Asia has become a major hub for a crime industry worth billions of dollars, targeting victims worldwide through fraud. Many criminal gangs are Chinese crime groups, operating in heavily guarded sites staffed by trafficked workers. The Office on Drugs and Crime states that this industry generates $27.4 billion to $36.5 billion in revenue annually.
Russian-born Durov was arrested in Paris in August, accused of allowing criminal activities on the platform, including the dissemination of child pornography. This has raised concerns about the criminal liability of app providers and sparked debates about where freedom of speech ends and law enforcement begins.
Telegram, with nearly 1 billion users, has not yet responded to requests for comment.
After his arrest and subsequent bail, Durov stated that the app would hand over users' IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities upon legal request. He also mentioned that the app would remove some features that were being misused for illegal activities.
Benedict Hoffman, the Deputy Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said that the app provides an environment that is easy for criminals to exploit.
He told Reuters, "For consumers, this means they face a higher risk of encountering scams or other criminal activities than before."
The report states that the huge profits earned by criminal groups in the region have forced them to innovate, adding that they have incorporated new business models and technologies into their operations, including malware, artificial intelligence, and deepfakes.
The Office on Drugs and Crime has identified more than ten deepfake software providers "specifically targeting criminal groups involved in online fraud in Southeast Asia."
In other parts of Asia, South Korean police, reportedly the country most severely affected by deepfake pornographic content, have launched an investigation into Telegram to determine whether it has contributed to online sexual crimes.
Last month, Reuters also reported that a hacker used a chatbot on Telegram to leak data from India's top insurance company, Star Health, prompting the company to sue the platform.
Through the chatbot, Reuters was able to download policy and claim documents containing names, phone numbers, addresses, tax details, ID copies, test results, and medical diagnoses.
