Internet security experts have sounded an alarm about the St. Petersburg-based tech company, which they say has become a worldwide hub for criminal webmasters who traffic in child porn, spamming and identity theft.
Cupertino, Calif.-based security firm Symantec blamed the Russian Business Network for a major part of the world's Internet-based crimes and profiteering.
"[The Russian Business Network] is literally a shelter for all illegal activities, be it child pornography, online scams, piracy or other illicit operations," Symantec analysts wrote in a report. "It is alleged that this organized cyber-crime syndicate has strong links with the Russian criminal underground as well as the government, probably accomplished by bribing officials."
In addition, security experts said that the Russian Business Network was behind about half of last year's phishing crimes — where users get tricked into revealing sensitive security information like passwords and account numbers.
Mountain View, Calif-based security firm VeriSign said that the Rock Group — known for their phishing activities — used the Russian Business Network to steal about $150 million from bank accounts last year.
Security experts noted that the Russian Business Network has no website, and that parties interested in hosting illegal content on its servers can only contact the company through instant-messaging programs and obscure Russian message boards.
A typical site costs about $600 per month to host, and anyone interested in hosting a site with them must prove they're not law enforcement by breaking the law themselves. Stealing money or information is a standard way to pass the test.
But what should an average adult webmaster or consumer do if they run afoul of the Russian Business Network? Security experts offered varying advice, but all of them agreed: Speak up.
"In order to start an investigation, there should be a complaint from a victim," said If your computer was infected, you should go to the police and write a complaint and then they can launch an investigation," said Alexander Gostev, an analyst with Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab.
But even if adult webmasters and security experts agree to speak up about the Russian Business Network, should they try to block the network entirely?
One security expert said yes. Because the Russian Business Network's activity is entirely illegal, it would be worth blocking it, but Danny McPherson, a chief research officer at security firm Arbor Networks, said that blocking problematic networks will only send the illegal activity elsewhere.
"[W]hat we really need is for political and regulatory law enforcement to step in."
