Hackers make use of the cybercrime supply chain for a multitude of illicit purposes like acquiring and distributing malicious tools, services, and stolen data.
This collaboration leads them to execute more sophisticated and widespread attacks by enabling them to specialize in specific aspects of cybercrime, enhance their capabilities, and scale their operations.
Infoblox researchers recently discovered an advanced and sophisticated tech suite dubbed “Vigorish Viper.” This technology suite is a full cybercrime supply chain.
Vigorish Viper Malware
Vigorish Viper is intricately linked to Chinese organized crime, money laundering, and human trafficking across Southeast Asia.
This comprehensive cybercrime supply chain, highly likely developed by the notorious Yabo Group, supports numerous seemingly unrelated gambling brands that exploit the $1.7 trillion illegal gambling economy.
The technology encompasses advanced software, DNS configurations, website hosting, payment systems, and mobile apps, enabling a vast network of illegal gambling operations targeting victims globally, particularly from Greater China.
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Notably, many of these gambling brands maintain a veneer of legitimacy through sponsorship deals with European sports teams.
The investigation reveals disturbing connections to forced labor camps on the Cambodia-Laos border, where trafficking victims are forced to operate gambling sites and run scams.
This discovery exposes the complex interplay between cutting-edge technology and international organized crime, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced monitoring of seemingly legitimate gambling enterprises and their underlying technological infrastructure.
Vigorish Viper is at the core of a complex European football sponsorship scandal involving illegal gambling advertising targeting Asian, particularly Chinese, markets.
Threat actor groups exploit team popularity through a network of shell companies and white-label mediators, establishing brand presence via shirt logos and pitchside advertisements.
These sponsored games, often illegally broadcast in China, lure viewers to betting websites.
The scheme persists despite recent sanctions by the U.K. Gambling Commission against white-label provider TGP Europe.
Vigorish Viper’s brands continue to secure new sponsorship deals across European leagues, highlighting the ongoing challenge of regulating cross-border gambling advertising in sports.
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It offers a wide range of services designed to cater to everyone, including customizable website templates, mobile phone applications, safe communication channels, and integrated payment systems.
Its strength is evident through the challenges faced by regulation and the demise of the original parent company, which have led to its transformation into distinct, single parts that operate collectively.
The structure employs sophisticated security measures, such as multiple-layered traffic distribution systems and user profiling techniques, to prevent detection or examination.
Vigorish Viper’s network encompasses hundreds of thousands of domains across many brands. It extends beyond its core target market to touch on high-profile sports sponsorship deals and highlight the potential global implications of illegal online gaming activities.
It is a complicated system that underlines how regulators and law enforcement authorities continue facing hurdles in dealing with cross-border gambling networks.
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