Cybercrime has entered a new era. The marketplace has evolved and it has never been easier to buy cybercrime tools. The low-cost tools are posing a real threat to businesses, with cyber attacks that cost less than $500. It can take just days to learn how to hack Wi-Fi, how to steal money from online bank accounts, how to use ransomware, how to create botnets, and more. The dark web has changed cybercrime, making it become a lot more accessible, and allowing anyone with the mindset to participate in it.
A new report by VPN service provider Atlas VPN has found criminals can make thousands of dollars from a single intrusion. They can do this by selling the login credentials to the victim’s accounts on the dark web. One of the problems with cyberattacks is that cybercriminals can’t really make much money off them, the report found. However, the cost of cyberattacks is increasing at an alarming rate, the report found. Many companies fail to protect their corporate networks. This allows cybercriminals to get in using simple brute-force attacks. Once they’re in, they often get the login credentials of the employees and then use them to get into other systems. The cost of cyberattacks was $66 on the dark web in 2017, $46 in 2016, $39 in 2015 and $25 in 2014, the report found.
Cybercriminals have been using the dark web for a decade. In the early days the dark web was the go-to destination for people looking to buy any illegal substances from drugs to firearms. It’s been a haven for cybercriminals because of the anonymity and encryption it provides. They can use the dark web to buy and sell hacking tools and services, stolen credit cards, and hitmen. A VPN is a vital tool to help shield users from unwanted attention. A VPN routes all traffic through a secure tunnel and provides an encrypted connection that can’t be intercepted. Using a VPN can help you avoid getting caught up in a myriad of digital privacy issues.
Since 2013, there have been over 20 million cyberattacks on companies, with the average cost of a successful attack being $7.9 million. Spear phishing, in particular, has increased dramatically in popularity in recent years and is now responsible for 85% of attacks. This is because they are far more likely to be effective than regular phishing attacks. Not only are they more expensive to execute, but they are more likely to fool the recipient into taking the bait. Experts recommend that spear phishing attacks be treated just like any other cyberattack and that companies invest in cyber security to combat the threat.
Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks are the foremost common sort of attacks, with hackers charging around $311 to send a barrage of DoS attacks for a month. These attacks are meant to flood a selected network with traffic to the extent it becomes unavailable to its users, the report noted.
Ransomware, the foremost widely used cyberattacks, cost as little as $66 per kit, while hiring a hacker are often as cheap as $250.
In addition to the cyberspace black markets, there are other popular darknet services as well. One is a program to erase your hard drive – it erases the software completely, making it impossible to recover any data from it. Another is a counter-anti-virus service, which fights against the most popular anti-virus programs. There is also a service, which helps hackers to launder money, so it is untraceable.
