How Knowledge Sharing Disrupts the Cybercrime Economy

Warsaw, Poland - September 23, 2025

Why cybercriminals fear transparency and how open knowledge shifts the balance of power

Cybercrime is not only a technical problem. It is an entire economy worth trillions of dollars. Attackers trade stolen credentials, sell malware kits, and rent infrastructure through underground markets that thrive on secrecy. By contrast, defenders gain strength through openness, collaboration, and the free flow of knowledge. This asymmetry is where initiatives like Not The Hidden Wiki (NTHW) and CypSec make a difference.

Knowledge sharing disrupts the cybercrime economy by exposing attack methods, dismantling the value of stolen data, and enabling faster defensive adaptation. When vulnerabilities, phishing campaigns, or botnet structures are publicly documented, their effectiveness drops sharply. Transparency reduces the return on investment for attackers.

NTHW's nonprofit platform makes this possible by educating people about attack vectors, threat actor tactics, and defensive strategies. Distributing this knowledge lets even small organizations without dedicated security budgets recognize and block common attack techniques that criminals rely on.

CypSec extends this approach by embedding knowledge-sharing practices into enterprise and government platforms. CypSec's own security tools offer open intelligence feeds, ensuring that any organization can automatically enforce protections as new threats are disclosed by the community.

"Secrecy fuels cybercrime, but transparency breaks its business model. Sharing knowledge is one of the strongest tools we have," said Frederick Roth, Chief Information Security Officer at CypSec.

The result is a cycle that favors defenders. As knowledge spreads, attack tools and services lose their novelty. Underground vendors are forced to adapt more frequently, increasing their costs and lowering their profits. The criminal economy becomes less sustainable when knowledge erodes its core business models.

Critically, knowledge sharing also builds trust among defenders. Openly publishing research and countermeasures allows organizations to reinforce a culture of collective resilience. This collaborative mindset stands in stark contrast to the fragmented, competitive nature of cybercrime syndicates.

Some people may argue sharing knowledge openly risks aiding attackers. In practice, however, attackers already circulate information in closed forums. The greater societal benefit comes from ensuring defenders at every scale, from local schools to national governments, have access to the same intelligence without barriers.

Combining NTHW's nonprofit mission with CypSec's operational technology makes transparency become a security measurement. Knowledge is transformed into a resource that drains the profitability of cybercrime while equipping defenders worldwide. The more defenders know, the less criminals can profit.

About Not The Hidden Wiki: Not The Hidden Wiki (NTHW) is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to making cybersecurity knowledge open, accessible, and ethical. It curates and distributes guides, research, and resources to empower global defenders. For more information, visit notthehiddenwiki.com.

About CypSec: CypSec delivers risk management, active defense, and governance solutions for enterprises and governments. Through partnerships with nonprofits like NTHW, it integrates open knowledge into operational security frameworks. For more information, visit cypsec.de.

Media Contact: Daria Fediay, Chief Executive Officer at CypSec - daria.fediay@cypsec.de.