CAREER: Securing Cyberspace: Gaining Deep Insights into the Online Underground Ecosystem

随着互联网变得越来越无处不在，它为网络犯罪提供了一个低风险的避风港——黑客攻击和网络诈骗等非法活动。网络犯罪越来越多地通过在线地下生态系统实现，其中有匿名论坛和所谓的暗网平台，供网络罪犯交换知识和交易非法产品和服务。为了更好地保护网络空间中合法机构和用户的信任，并破坏或减轻非法市场的危害，迫切需要深入了解网络地下生态系统并了解其复杂的关系。该项目的目标是设计和开发一个集成的计算框架，用于深入调查在线地下生态系统，从而通过产生数据驱动的网络犯罪干预来帮助保护网络空间。这项研究将分为三个主要部分。首先，研究团队将设计方法，开发算法和可扩展的技术，以自动分析在线地下市场。其次，该团队将开发一个跨市场用户识别和分析的新框架。第三，团队将设计创新模型并提出算法对网络犯罪社会网络进行结构分析，深入了解生态系统中网络犯罪的组织和运作。这项工作的更广泛的影响包括通过制定对网络犯罪的干预措施来保护其用户的网络空间，从而使科学界和整个社会受益。通过该项目建立的网络安全实验室将加强网络安全方面的教育和劳动力培训。该项目通过课程开发、弱势群体的参与以及新设立的网络安全学位课程的学生指导活动，将研究与教育结合起来。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As the Internet becomes increasingly ubiquitous, it offers a low-risk harbor for cybercrime -- illegal activities such as hacking and online scams. Cybercrime is increasingly enabled by an online underground ecosystem, within which are anonymous forums and so-called dark web platforms for cybercriminals to exchange knowledge and trade in illicit products and services. To better protect the trust of legitimate institutions and users within cyberspace, and to disrupt or mitigate the harm of illegal markets, there is an urgent need to gain deep insights into the online underground ecosystem and understand its intricate relationships. The goal of this project is to design and develop an integrated computational framework for in-depth investigation of the online underground ecosystem and thus to help secure cyberspace by producing data-driven interventions of cybercrimes. The research will have three main parts. First, the research team will design methods and develop algorithmic and scalable techniques to automate the analysis of online underground markets. Second, the team will develop a novel framework for cross-market user identification and profiling. Third, the team will design an innovative model and propose algorithms for structural analysis of cybercriminal social networks to gain deep insights into the organization and operation of cybercriminals in the ecosystem. The broader impacts of this work include benefits to scientific communities and society as a whole by developing interventions into online crime to secure cyberspace for its users. The establishment of a cybersecurity lab through this project will enhance education and workforce training in cybersecurity. The project integrates research with education through curriculum development, the participation of underrepresented groups, and student mentoring activities for a newly-established cybersecurity degree program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.