In the early days of the Internet, hackers generally operated only as entities maverick, often subvert the rules for the sake of doing so. Around the 00s, hackers have started forming organized groups, and they might enjoy easy access tutorials and training resources to help perfect their craft.
Today, some hackers even operate within global organizations that are sophisticated, knowledgeable and increasingly dangerous. According to some, the "Cyber Black Market" gives more profit than the global trade in illicit drugs, which means it is larger than most multinational companies currently listed on the Nasdaq. Here is a look at the workings of the cyber black market and the potential ramifications for the Web in general.
massive attacks highlight the dangers of pirates
Just for some context, here is a brief chronology of some major hacking events: In 1998, the public was shocked to find that the pirates have reached a total of 300 political sites. Less than ten years later, the pirates were operating at a staggering scale, resulting in 300 webpages seem derisory. In 06, over 20 million AOL Web surveys were posted publicly online. These included private banking and commercial data users. In 07, hackers stole nearly $ 1 million in a Swedish bank. In 08, Heartland of data systems were hacked, exposing 143 million credit card numbers.
Rather than slow down to changing security measures, these attacks appear to have grown in scope and scale. In 2013, an Evernote hack affected 50 million users. Adobe hack missed 150 million discs. During the 2013 holiday season, 40 million credit card numbers were stolen from target buyers before the retailer eradicated the malware. These examples demonstrate again and again that consumers can never be too careful with their data.
Where Stolen Data Goes
The pirates have many opportunities to get valuable data includes credit card numbers, bank account numbers and passwords. And in the cyber black market today, hackers stealing your data is not necessarily the same as those who have taken advantage of. There is a growing market for the sale of your information, and the attacker needs only to steal information and sell it to the highest bidder to make a profit.
Many underground sites exist where criminals can sell your data to a net profit. And with the advent of cryptocurrencies as BitCoin, intruders guests can transfer money without providing personal data, making these ideal currencies for illegal transactions in this market. In this way, the cyber black market has grown to operate in the world with buyers and sellers across the globe.
More valuable products on the black market
data is not the only product for sale on the black market. Hackers can also benefit from the creation of malware that is used to retrieve the data. In this way, some cyber criminals can take advantage of the programs they are running, or collect data from; rather, they encode these programs and put them on sale.
Viruses, worms, bots, and other malicious software are in high demand on the black market. While anti-malware protection programs are evolving to provide better protection, hackers are also evolving, finding new and creative ways to work around these programs.
the malware developers sell their programs on the black market with a lot of the same marketing techniques that developers use legal. They can offer on bulk purchases discounts, service guarantees, and special promotions. Demos are often available to show the value of a given program.
The criminals will find a variety of tools for sale on the black market. Some options include:
- toolkits that help hackers to steal login information
- Access to pirated computer networks services
- Spear phishing as users turn in the opening virus emailed
- zero day exploits that buyers can use only once
buying?
Cyber criminals are some of the biggest buyers on the black market, but they are not the only ones shopping. The National Security Agency (NSA) is considered one of the biggest buyers of zero day exploits. Zero days are attacks that exploit a known weakness in an application.
These are often sold in a kind of gray market which is not clearly illegal, but not run openly, either. It is speculated that the NSA can buy zero days for use in spy organization efforts. One day zero can sell for as much as $ 300,000.
The market of cybercrime
The cyber black market is thriving, giving computer professionals warned many incentives to go to the dark side. While software vendors are paying a bug bounty for anyone who discovers a weakness, the amount offered is only a fraction of what the pirates could cause the operator.
Verisign and HP to pay $ 10,000 to bug premiums. Meanwhile, hackers can earn over $ 100,000 for the sale of zero exploits of one day on the black market. A RAND study said the cyber black market is potentially more profitable than the illegal drug trade.
Efforts to end cybercrime
While officials of law enforcement trying to close the cyber black market, it has proven extremely difficult. The tech-savvy criminals respond to these efforts by simply squeezing their own safety. Many markets now interact only with trusted clients. While some markets are easy to find, others are carefully protected.
Where only one supplier is successfully taken off the cyber black market, another simply moves to fill the space. The market is extremely strong, making it a major threat that consumers should be prepared to face well into the future.
Protect yourself against cybercrime
Cybercrime is eradicated any time in the near future, so it is important for you to take action and protect yourself against attacks piracy. The FBI recommends that Internet users to take precautions to avoid these pirates. Some excellent precautionary measures include:
- Maintaining a firewall that is turned on at all times
- Install and regularly update antivirus software
- Installing and regularly updating anti-spyware technology
- operating systems updated regularly
- Making regular use of a good VPN when operating on wi- public fi
You should also be aware of the many tricks that cybercriminals use to steal your data. Never open suspicious emails. If you open an email and it asks you to download an attachment or follow a link, do not do it unless you know the sender. If you know the sender, but the message looks suspicious, contact them by another method, such as by phone, to check they sent in fact the message. Turn off your computer when not in use. Avoid using public WiFi whenever possible.
The cyber black market is a scary reality that people are facing. While the presence of this underground network of cyber criminals pose a threat to your personal data, you can reduce much of the threat now with the latest trends in cybersecurity and to take appropriate steps to protect your information .
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