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Cybercrime Follies: The Rise of Roasting Cybercriminals
A new trend in cybersecurity is taking aim at cybercriminals, using humor and satire to undermine their credibility. In this article, we'll explore the rise of roasting cybercriminals and why experts are taking a different approach to combating these threats.
Cybersecurity experts, like Trellix's John Fokker, argue that glorifying cybercriminals is not helping organizations or customers. Fokker's team created a blog called the Dark Web Roast to mock and humiliate cybercriminals instead of glorifying them. The blog features memes, humor, and satire aimed at cybercriminals, highlighting their mistakes and missteps. Security experts aim to create an environment where cybercriminals are less likely to operate effectively by undermining their credibility and trustworthiness.
The world of cybersecurity has long been fascinated by the mysterious and often mythical figures known as cybercriminals. These individuals, operating in the shadows of the dark web, have become almost legendary entities, with security vendors assigning them names like Wizard Spider and Velvet Tempest. However, not everyone is enamored with this trend. In fact, some experts, including former CISA boss Jen Easterly and Trellix VP of threat intel John Fokker, have called on the industry to stop glorifying these groups and instead give them horrible names that reflect their true nature.
In a recent interview at the RSA Conference, Fokker expressed his frustration with the trend of glorifying cybercriminals. "Everybody's glorifying threat actors, and that's not helping our customers or organizations," he said. "These are just individuals, they just use computers, and they just want to steal your data and make money. They're not mythical. They don't have superpowers." Fokker's team at Trellix has taken a different approach, deciding to create a blog that roasts cybercriminals instead of glorifying them.
This blog, known as the Dark Web Roast, is a regular publication that features memes, mockery, and humor aimed directly at cybercriminals. The tone is decidedly snarky, with Fokker's team using phrases like "Scrawny Nuisance" and "Evil Ferret" to describe these individuals. The blog also includes examples of actual cybercrime incidents, where the perpetrators' mistakes and missteps are highlighted for all to see.
One recent example featured a ransomware gang that bulk-drafted and scheduled their extortion attempts like a content calendar. The researchers at Trellix commented on this behavior, saying "Considering the sheer, numbing volume of their posts, it's a solid bet that their 'victims' are probably just fake sites they spun up themselves for content, because nothing screams legitimacy like inflating your stats with phantom compromises."
The Dark Web Roast has also taken aim at individual cybercriminals, including a particular administrator who was revealed to be stealing from his own customers. Fokker's team used this incident as an opportunity to poke fun at the admin, saying "We basically said you're stupid if you work with him, because he's just getting rich, and we just make fun of him." While it's unclear whether the impact of this blog post was measurable, it's clear that Fokker's team is trying to send a message: cybercrime won't be tolerated or glorified.
The approach taken by Trellix and other security experts is seen as a deliberate change in law enforcement's response towards cybercriminals. In recent years, the focus has shifted from simply taking down groups' infrastructure to also targeting their networks and individual members. The LockBit ransomware gang, for example, was trolled via its own website before being dismantled by the UK's National Crime Agency.
Fokker explained that this approach is effective because it fractures trust among cyberthieves. "Criminals say, 'OK, I can play this game all day long,'" he said. But public mockery and infiltration like the FBI did with Hive's ransomware network can create dependencies that weaken criminal operations. "You have groups that were in the partnership with the ransomware group, and they were breaking into or they were stealing data, and then you have exit scams, or the decryptor didn't work, and that causes cracks in the business model."
The Dark Web Roast is part of a broader effort to undermine the credibility and trustworthiness of cybercriminals. By highlighting their mistakes and missteps, security experts hope to create an environment where these individuals are less likely to operate effectively.
In conclusion, the world of cybersecurity has become increasingly sophisticated, with cybercriminals evolving into more complex and organized groups. However, instead of glorifying these entities, experts like Fokker are taking a different approach: roasting them. The Dark Web Roast is just one example of this trend, using humor and satire to highlight the absurdity and incompetence of cybercrime operations.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Cybercrime-Follies-The-Rise-of-Roasting-Cybercriminals-ehn.shtml
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/04/05/trellix_john_fokker_roasting_crims/
https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/05/trellix_john_fokker_roasting_crims/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8579169/
Published: Sun Apr 5 08:29:18 2026 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
