Experts from Kaspersky Lab reported that there are several tens of thousands of hackers in the world, who are members of 14 associations. About it "News". The largest number of cybercriminals is engaged in attacks on financial institutions and structures - banks, companies and certain individuals. But the most technically equipped are the developers of spyware.
Hackers interact with each other on closed forums, which are not so easy to get into. You have to pay for access. Another option is a guarantee from a person with a reputation. Moreover, the newcomer will be checked by the one who will vouch for him. In case of failure, the inviter will be severely punished.
There are employees at Kaspersky Lab who have access to such forums, but this is preceded by many years of training. And the accounts of such users are carefully guarded so that they are not blocked. At the same time, work often consists of training employees.
“We are not looking for anyone in particular, we are just exploring new methods. On such forums, you can get information that will allow you to optimize an anti-virus product even before it is launched on the market. The most popular semi-closed forums have thousands of users. Every day there are 20-30 new topics. If we talk about completely closed areas that you can get to only with a certain reputation, hundreds of people stay there at the same time, ”explains Sergey Lozhkin, senior anti-virus expert at Kaspersky Lab.
And Alexey Novikov, director of the Positive Technologies (PT Expert Security Center) security expert center, said that the development of malware is a very profitable business. It is in the top 4 most frequently sold products on the dark web, and development is in second place after the programs themselves.
At the same time, according to experts, there are only a few hundred top-level hackers in the world. They are looking for “zero-day vulnerabilities” and other gaps for which there is no “antidote” yet. At the same time, anti-virus company specialists often openly communicate with hackers during conferences and other events.
As noted, there are 11 specializations of hackers. For example, coordinators monitor each stage of the operation and respond to changes, insiders “leak” data from within companies, operators or bot operators cover up traces after an attack, drops cash out money or deliver data. There are other options.
At the same time, enthusiastic hackers and loners are almost a thing of the past. This is no longer romance, but a very serious and profitable business.
Source: 3dnews.ru