It’s the kind of hi-tech sale you really don’t want to know about. Hackers are selling malware, everything from an individual virus to entire kits that let cyber thieves put together their own attacks.
The prices? A lot less than you might think. An individual virus can cost up to $35, while the entire kit, known as Mpack, goes for up to $1000. And some of the most expensive software comes with 12 months of tech support so the programs can exploit the latest vulnerabilities is systems. There’s also a statistical package, letting users know how successful their attack has been and the location of infected computers.
“They are starting to pop up left and right,” said Tim Eades from security company Sana, of the sites offering downloadable hacking tools.“It’s the classic verticalization of a market as it starts to mature. It’s almost a play-by-play of good business practices of software marketing," he said. "When it comes to thehacking industry and level of business acumen there’s no limit to what your money can buy.” You can also find volume discounts and price reductions for regular customers. According to some there are around 68,000 downloadable hacking tools out in cyberspace. The vast majority are free, requiring a good knowledge of computers to use. But others are for sale to thosewhose knowledge is far more limited. The kits, such as Mpack, Nuclear, WebAttacker and Shark 2 are among the most dangerous. Mpack, for instance, exploits 12 different vulnerabilities in abrowser that visits a compromised site. It’s a sign of the proliferation of these tools that the overwhelming supply is driving down prices. The real money for the people selling themcomes from discovering unknown or unpatched vulnerabilities in software; that information can go for thousands of dollars.
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