Cybercrime economy booming
Booming : Cybercriminals never stay in one place, with most servers having lifespans of less than six months at any one time.Picture: Reuters
Thursday, November 27, 2008
THE popular underground cybercrime economy is a self-sustaining market that is thriving despite the current economic downturn, according to security company Symantec. Credit card information was by far by the most popular advertised and requested "product" during the study's time period. Symantec notes that credit cards are popular due to the many different ways they can be obtained and used for fraud, and because it's difficult for merchants to identify fraudulent transactions before a sale is completed. Bank account data was the second-most popular category of advertised goods; Symantec says this is popular because of the potential for high payouts and the speed at which money can be transferred. The company pointed out one example in which the balances of certain accounts were then transferred online to untraceable locations less than 15 minutes after the information was obtained.
Unsurprisingly, all of this information is often obtained and distributed through the use of phishing services, keyloggers, bank exploits, and botnets.
Symantec noted that botnets were one of the most expensive attack tools and during the observation period, where their services went for an average of US$225($339). Phishing scam hosting services were pretty affordable, with prices from US$2 to US$80, and the average price of a keylogger was US$23. However, most bank vulnerabilities at financial websites were definitely the "highest-ranked," ranging from US$100 to US$2,999. And of course, this is also the highest risk, so it comes as no surprise that this method is expensive.
Those offering and advertising the services posted more than 44 million messages during the year-long period, and the US hosted 41 per cent of the total number of underground servers worldwide and with 98 per cent of underground economy servers having lifespans of of six months.
Symantec wraps up its report with a list of recommendations on how consumers can protect themselves. The use of Internet security solutions that include antivirus and firewall software. Make sure all of your security patches are up-to-date. Use strong passwords, change them often, and don't use the same passwords across sites. Don't open unrecognised e-mail attachments. Report intruders to your ISP and/or local police. And, of course, guard your identity with your life. As we have learned, most people don't do basic things to protect themselves, so common knowledge may not be quite so common as we think.
New York Times
Unsurprisingly, all of this information is often obtained and distributed through the use of phishing services, keyloggers, bank exploits, and botnets.
Symantec noted that botnets were one of the most expensive attack tools and during the observation period, where their services went for an average of US$225($339). Phishing scam hosting services were pretty affordable, with prices from US$2 to US$80, and the average price of a keylogger was US$23. However, most bank vulnerabilities at financial websites were definitely the "highest-ranked," ranging from US$100 to US$2,999. And of course, this is also the highest risk, so it comes as no surprise that this method is expensive.
Those offering and advertising the services posted more than 44 million messages during the year-long period, and the US hosted 41 per cent of the total number of underground servers worldwide and with 98 per cent of underground economy servers having lifespans of of six months.
Symantec wraps up its report with a list of recommendations on how consumers can protect themselves. The use of Internet security solutions that include antivirus and firewall software. Make sure all of your security patches are up-to-date. Use strong passwords, change them often, and don't use the same passwords across sites. Don't open unrecognised e-mail attachments. Report intruders to your ISP and/or local police. And, of course, guard your identity with your life. As we have learned, most people don't do basic things to protect themselves, so common knowledge may not be quite so common as we think.
New York Times
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