{"id":90281,"date":"2018-07-11T06:01:56","date_gmt":"2018-07-11T13:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=90281"},"modified":"2025-08-13T01:17:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T08:17:23","slug":"airport-security-system-dark-web-rdp-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/airport-security-system-dark-web-rdp-shop\/","title":{"rendered":"Major International Airport\u2019s Security System Found for Sale on Dark Web RDP Shop"},"content":{"rendered":"

The closest many of us get to the dark web is watching hackers surf it in television shows or movies. However, it is a very real place that contains lots of stolen data. This data, along with compromised systems, devices, and more are often sold in underground marketplaces that exist on the dark web. One type of marketplace is called a remote desktop protocol (RDP) shop, which provides access to stolen systems for a small fee. Found in one of these RDP shops by McAfee\u2019s ATR team<\/a>:\u00a0a major international airport\u2019s security and building automation systems, which could be purchased for only $10 USD.<\/p>\n

You might be wondering \u2013 what does \u201caccess\u201d mean in this scenario? Just like Spotify and Apple Music sell access to artist\u2019s songs, or a gym sells access to their exercise machines, the dark web can sell remote access to hacked machines through these RDP shops. Once access is purchased, crooks can obtain logins to a victim\u2019s computer system and essentially have full control of it.<\/p>\n

Now, the McAfee ATR team is not exactly sure how the cybercriminals got their hands on these systems. But they do know that once something like an airport security system is purchased, crooks can do serious damage. This access could allow cybercriminals to do essentially anything they want \u2013 create false alerts to the internal security team, send spam, steal data and credentials, mine for cryptocurrency, or even conduct a ransomware attack on the organization.<\/p>\n

Tips to Protect Your Personal Data<\/h2>\n

So, what happens if your information was potentially compromised in the sale of one of these systems on the dark web? To protect your personal data from larger cybercriminal schemes that originate from RDP shops, be sure to follow these tips:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n