Behind the Scenes - The Industry of Social Media Manipulation Driven by Malware

Delve into a comprehensive investigation of the structured industry behind social media manipulation (SMM) in this 48-minute Black Hat conference talk. Uncover the journey from analyzing an IoT botnet to exposing the deliberate act of paying for popularity on social media platforms. Explore the ecosystem, whitelisted IPs, traffic analysis, and automation software involved in SMM. Examine the reseller model, HTTP traffic, and various panel types used in the industry. Investigate IP reputation, residential proxy providers, and their role in SMM operations. Gain insights into customer-facing sellers, potential buyers, and content analysis across different industries. Analyze the financial aspects of SMM and discuss potential solutions, including targeting middlemen, legal considerations, and AI-based flagging systems. Learn about the researchers' methodology and future directions for combating social media manipulation.

Introduction
Background
Ecosystem
Whitelisted IPS
Traffic Analysis
Automation Software
Reseller Model
HTTP Traffic
Bulk Reseller Panels
Reseller Panels Stand in Our Ecosystem
Reseller Panels Are Similar
Simple Investigation
Simple DNS Query
Perfect Panel
Reseller Panels
Panel
Panel Demo
Main Provider
SMM Panels
Other Methods
Where Do We Stand
IP Reputation
Residential Proxy Providers
Junior VIP
New Actor
Residential Proxy
Valid Solution
Lumen
Loominatee
Trend Micro
Research Results
Socks
Bala Solution
Geo IP Location
Vala
Resident Evil Understanding Residential IP Proxy
Where Do We Stand Now
The Customer Facing Seller
The Follower Factory
Eddy
The Buyers
Understanding Potential Buyers
Content Analysis
Entertainment Industry
Personal Profiles
Unexpected Profiles
STD Testing
Duck Face
Beautiful Birth 33
The Crunchy Part
The Exercise
How Much Could They Make
Other People Making Money
Exercise
The Researcher
What to do next
Targeting the middlemen
What is illegal
New AI flagging
Focus on the content
Sources
Outro