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Meet the Hackers Who Get Rich Selling Spies Zero-Day Exploits

Posted by samzenpus on from the selling-to-the-man dept.

Sparrowvsrevolution writes "Forbes profiles Vupen, a French security firm that openly sells secret software exploits to spies and government agencies. Its customers pay a $100,000 annual fee simply for the privilege of paying extra fees for the exploits that Vupen's hackers develop, which the company says can penetrate every major browser, as well as other targets like iOS, Android, Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word. Those individual fees often cost much more than that six-figure subscription, and Vupen sells them non-exclusively to play its customers off each other in an espionage arms race. The company's CEO, Chaouki Bekrar, says Vupen only sells to NATO governments and 'NATO partners' but he admits 'if you sell weapons to someone, there's no way to ensure that they won't sell to another agency.'"

8 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Damn... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Funny
    That's serious money...

    The question is...how do "I" get into that??!?

    :)

    Hacking stuff, and protected by 'NATO' government paying you handsomely for the 'service'.

    sweet...

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  2. I'm not scared... by asdbffg · · Score: 5, Funny

    Norton keeps me safe.

  3. So basically... by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Funny

    Step 1. Paint giant bullseye on the top of your corporate office. Write "Insert bomb here," repeatedlty around the edge.
    Step 2. Sell digital goods that can be used by sovereign powers to wage war on each other to both sides.
    Step 3. ???
    Step 4. Profi--Error: Connection reset by peer

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  4. Thieves among thieves by hjf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh, they only sell to NATO, right? You know, you can TRY to lie to us, but in the end, lying to the CIA is the same as lying to yourself. They know you sell to Iran, China, and every other regime out there.

    You're on a shady enough business not to sell to the best offer.

  5. Kind of shady? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I mean, aren't there laws against doing things like hacking into computers you don't own? Isn't this aiding in a crime? The last time I checked, even government agencies were obliged not to break laws.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
    1. Re:Kind of shady? by Desler · · Score: 5, Funny

      Your post is so cute. You actually think they care.

    2. Re:Kind of shady? by Real_Reddox · · Score: 5, Insightful

      if a soldier hears his superior yell "fire", he shoots, no questions asked.

      As a soldier, I can only note your lack of insight in how the military works.

      --
      I spent five minutes stealing cool sigs and all I got was this.
  6. Exploit to exploit by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wow. That puts huge incentive on planting moles in projects with wide distribution simply for the aim of writing exploitable code.