Cybercrime services go cheap in black-markets

Manama

The cybercrime black-market in Bahrain has grown so much over the years so that hackers are now selling social media passwords, email address passwords and other valuable data for as cheap as BD7.5(20$), an expert claimed, as he warned home-users and businesses.

“Personal as well as business internet users need to be extra careful entering the cyber world as the online black-market has grown substantially in recent years,” said Information Security and Strategy Expert Neil Thacker. 

According to Thacker, the black-market is no longer an obscure entity in the Internet that only a certain people have access to. “Not only the market accessible to anyone who has Internet access, but the services are given for extremely cheap prices also.”

“The cybercrime black-market is a billion dollar industry now. It is an industry where crime is offered as a service. And now these services are given at a cheap price. Social media passwords are for sale for as little as 20 dollars,” he said, adding, “You can see people who steal credentials, people who steal intellectual property etc. in the market.”

There are numerous websites offering the services of professional hackers. One such website called ‘Hackers List’ has over 400 posts from users seeking help from the 70 hackers who has signed up with the website. 

The way the transaction takes place is that, when the user places a request, one or more hackers’ reviews it and name their price. The prices can be ranging from just a few dinars to thousands of dinars. When the price is agreed, the service is rendered.

Thacker added, because of such increased threats, users must take extra measures to protect themselves. “Earlier, the main advice given was to not visit untrusted websites. But now, more measures and caution is needed as even trusted websites can be compromised.” 

“One of the critical steps to take is to ensure that your computer’s operating system is fully patched and to avoid using the main account with the administrative privileges for browsing the Internet,” he said.