Trevor Hilligoss
Plunging the Internet Toilets: The Illicit Economy Enabling High-Tech Harassment, Stalking, and Sextortion in the Sinosphere
Across an increasingly Balkanized global internet, within myriad digital enclaves across the globe divided by regulations, language barriers, great firewalls, and filter bubbles, one universal trend seems to unite the digital world– the formation of sadistic online cesspools focused on sexploitation and harassment. In this talk, we will focus on “internet toilets” (互联网厕所) which are toxic online communities where Chinese netizens can dox their enemies and exes and collaborate with others to conduct aggressive cyberbullying and harassment campaigns. These Chinese internet toilets have strong similarities to western doxing communities and sadistic harm groups.
Internet toilet users often purchase data and technical services to enable targeted harassment and stalking. We will go over some of the tools and services marketed to doxers, stalkers, and harassers on Chinese darknet marketplaces across three main categories: personal data lookup services which are often serviced by corrupt insiders with positions in public security and technology companies, digital harassment tools such as SMS bombardment services, and sexploitation tools like AI nudify apps. Because some of this activity is occurring on monetizable social media platforms, harassers and internet toilet admins can also get paid simply for making popular posts that get a lot of engagement. In many cases, this doxing and harassment escalates to physical violence and has even driven victims to suicide.
This talk will introduce internet toilets, examine the various services and tools that service these cesspools, discuss the economic and social incentives that drive this behavior, and compare and contrast Chinese internet toilets to Western doxbins. More broadly, we will assert how digital gender-based-violence acts as a core motivator and monetary driver of cybercrime across the globe.
Trevor served nine years in the U.S. Army and has an extensive background in federal law enforcement, tracking threat actors for both the DoD and FBI. He serves in an advisory capacity for multiple cybersecurity-focused non-profits and has spoken at numerous US and international cyber conferences, holds multiple federal and industry certifications in the field of cybersecurity, and is a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award for volunteer service aimed at countering cyber threats. Trevor is the Head of Security Research and Senior Vice President of SpyCloud Labs.
