“We are good hackers, here’s how we chase pedophiles on the net”

“Hi Cate13, I’m 50, is it a problem for you?” Thus, the online conversation between a pedophile and its minor victim of the minor. Two explain it to us hacker who have hunting these criminals their mission. I meet Volpe and Doctor on Telegram. All our conversations will take place on this platform, which is also the place where criminals fit. Their identity will remain unknown. Expert in cyber security On the thirty years the first and student twenty years old, the second, founded the Cyber ​​Sentinels group, which today has over a thousand people. Hiding their names and their face is a precaution to continue to hunt. I am White Hat Hackerthat is, web and computer systems, which use their skills ethically to defend companies, help the community and identify And to report those who try to adapt kids online.

Everything was born in October when, they tell, “we decided to found our movement with two main purposes: on the one hand activism, with the commitment to find pedophiles and denounce them to the authorities; on the other, free training for those who want to approach IT security and thehacking ethical. Many have joined. There are experts from different sectors: lawyers, engineers, students, curious and then a few dozen hunters ». In a few months they have already stuck almost two hundred of the worst criminals, those who do not scruple to bring kids and girls closer and then get photos, videos and if possible to meet them in real life. “Us Hunter“Explains Volpe,” we are organized hierarchically. Based on the skills and the number of prey that hunted, they range from one to three stars. Then there is Gorosei, who is responsible for the whole group and verifies, for example, that hunters are of age “.

The search for pedophiles begins on public chats, which can be accessed anonymously, with a simple nicknameand where you can dialogue freely with other users. “We enter channels as friendship, chat Italy and so on and pretend to be girls,” says Volpe. “When I enroll with a nickname feminine, I receive many private messages. To those who contact me, I say: “Hi, pleasure, Sara, 13 years old, Rome”. Some reply: “too small”. Others go on: those are our goal. Many immediately declare their true age, only a few pretend to be kids. In ninety percent of cases, first of all they ask: “Are you in pajamas?”. And I understand that we just have to “cook” ».

Cooking, in this context, means: hooking them, fitting them, identifying them and delivering them to the authorities. The script is always the same, usually infallible. The hunters pretend to be a girl with a difficult story behind them. Thanks to social engineering techniques, and a subtle manipulation, they push the pedophile to discover themselves. Dr. says: «I say that my father is dead. These individuals, instead of demonstrating a minimum of empathy, become more bold as they think that the absence of a parental figure makes me a more vulnerable prey. We exchange some message on the public chat, then with an excuse I take them to Telegram, and you’re done».

On the instant messaging platform the hacker They have more space for maneuver and manage to trace more easily to the identity of pedophiles. “We use several toolthanks to which we can find out who I am », explains Dr.. Unlike what is normally thought, after the arrest of the founder Pavel Durov, Telegram changed its policies and gave the authorities to trace the users and the users of users the opportunity. Pedophiles, however, use it without asking many questions: «They seem almost hypnotized by the fact that on the other side there is a girl. As soon as the conversation begins, they ask us to send photos or videos of the intimate parts. Or, we offer us to send them and they agree. The moment they respond yes, a crime is already configured, since they would be childhood images. The next step is to combine a meeting. Usually we say: “See you, are you coming to see me? Mom goes out and I have a free house ”. Inevitably accept. The last step is to get a photo of them. Once these elements have been collected, we no longer respond to their messages ».

At that point the checks on identity start: it is necessary to understand who on the other side, be sure that it is of age and that the photo sent corresponds to the truth. Here the skill of the hacker.

But who are the pedophiles? Is there a typical profile? “In our experience they are all men,” says Volpe, “the youngest was less than thirty years old, the oldest about seventy. From all over Italy. We also met engineers or people who expressed themselves with language properties, but most do not seem very educated ».

Once the criminals are unmasked, the final step is to prepare a digital folder with all the documentation collected: photos, chat, name, telephone number, email address, social profiles. All this information is loaded on the Moige portal, the Italian parents movement, or, more often, on that of the blue telephone. The file is then sent to the Postal Police, which is activated immediately.

“Cyberpedophilia is perhaps the most serious computer crime that exists,” Volpe points out. “In the forums of dark webeven where drugs are sold, malware or fraud services, the child pornographic material is always forbidden. In fact, it is well known that when a complaint arrives for cyberpedofilia or child pornography, the police mobilize immediately ». But what can be done to try to protect children and young people and prevent them from running risks? “My advice is to give them the mobile phone as late as possible,” says Dr., “it is important to create accounts with limitations, continued the use of the phone and install software Parental Controlbut also proactively monitor the activity of the children, always paying attention to the sites and apps they use and with those who come into contact. Even on video games you can make bad meetings, you have to explain it to the youngest and constantly keep your eyes open, because the Internet can be a dangerous place ».