Vista Zero-Day Exploit For Sale

Snakepit Bit writes "Underground hackers are hawking a zero-day exploit for Windows Vista at $50,000 a pop, according to computer security researchers at Trend Micro. The Windows Vista exploit, which has not been independently verified, was just one of many zero-days available for sale at an auction-style marketplace infiltrated by the anti-virus vendor. Prices for exploits for unpatched code execution flaws are in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. Bots and Trojan downloaders that typically hijack Windows machines for use in botnets were being sold for about $5,000." From the article: "According to [Trend Micro CTO Raimund] Genes, the typical price of a destructive exploit has increased dramatically, driving an underground market that could exceed the value of the legitimate security software business. 'I think the malware industry is making more money than the anti-malware industry,' Genes said."

Comments

Yeah, right

[LaughingCoder]

... according to computer security researchers at Trend Micro ...

... like Trend Micro doesn't have anything to gain by people thinking there are Vista exploits. Seriously, Norton, McAfee and Trend Micro are all worried that their golden goose may be cooked if Vista is significantly more secure than XP. And I loved the use of the cloak-and-dagger word "infiltrated" to strike further fear into people. This seems to me little more than a sad attempt to remain relevant by an anti-virus vendor.