According to 404 Media, such actions differ from the previous attacks on Discord with their clearly criminal orientation, which entails legal consequences both for persons who load such content and for those who download it, regardless of whether it happened by chance or not.
This method is a continuation of abuse of content moderation systems initially designed to protect users, but which can be used with malicious intentions.
The administrator of one of the servers said that his Discord server has been repeatedly blocked recently. The administrator also added that the reason for the blocking was the placement and subsequent complaint about unacceptable content.
Some of the attacks are associated with “Comm” – an indefinite subculture that includes manipulations with SIM cards, theft of cryptocurrencies, and physical reprisals. In addition to Discord, the group’s activity is also manifested in the Telegram messenger. COMM is an extensive ecosystem that includes hundreds of gamers, hackers, and criminals. The FBI has already arrested some alleged members of the group for cybercrimes and crimes involving weapons. Some participants are based in the USA and Great Britain.
Discord confirmed awareness of cases of loading CSAM images to block specific servers, and also updated Discord regulations.
“We are tirelessly working to ensure that such content does not appear on our platform, as it is extremely disgusting and violates our community rules,” said the representative of Discord. They noted that systems have been developed to combat the problem, including blocking the violators and reporting them to NCMEC (the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children), which cooperates with local law enforcement agencies.