Dark Web Dialogues: Analyzing Communication Platform Choices of Underground Forum Users

We investigate the utilization of private communication platforms by underground forum users. We aim to bridge the knowledge gap regarding user preferences for communication platforms employed for private conversations within illicit contexts. We employ social network analysis, topic modeling and statistical analysis on over 7.5 million posts and 260 thousand messages from a popular underground forum. We identify prevalent communication platforms and investigate the relationship between the context in which users share contact details and their social networks in relation to platform preferences. Our contributions include an overview of prominent communication platforms used by forum users, highlighting Telegram's predominant popularity. We show that in hacking related contexts users choose platforms that provide higher security and privacy levels. Lastly, findings from our statistical model indicate a significant relationship between the centrality of users in the social network and their choice of communication platform. We provide valuable insights for law enforcement agencies, helping them make strategic decisions and plan interventions combating cybercrime.