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Cybercrime-As-a-Service Takes Off

Posted by timothy on from the no-need-for-subtlety dept.

pnorth writes "Malware writers that sell toolkits online for as little as $400 will now configure and host the attacks as a service for another $50, according to email offers cited by security experts. A technical account manager at authentication firm Vasco said that cyber crime is becoming so business-like that online offerings of malicious code often include support and maintenance services. He said 'it was inevitable that services would be sold to people who bought the malware toolkits but didn't know how to configure them. Not only can you buy configuration as a service now, you can have the malware operated for you, too.'"

3 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. Honesty? by LinuxGeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Will the sellers be honest enough to give you all the money they drain from bank accounts?

    --

    Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
  2. Law enforcement by Phroggy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, if they're selling support, presumably there's a way to contact them, and if there's a way to contact them, shouldn't it be possible to identify them?

    Are these activities not illegal?

    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  3. Re:You really know when its a business... by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I think your comment is more insightful than funny. The question is, can an unregulated blackmarket grow and thrive without law - no contract enforcement, courts, or police?

    Some would point to the large sums of cash in the illicit drug trade as evidence that it can, but I point to the stratospheric markup on illicit drugs as evidence that the market is horribly inefficient. The markups show there's a shortage of suppliers - due in part to law enforcement, I'm sure, but being in the drug trade also means running the risk of being gunned down (or worse) by competitors. Personally I prefer a bit more regulation in my markets than that.