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Malware industry worth more than Anti-malware
Author: Ryan GarsidePublished: 18th December 2006
Could Norton be one of the clients on the hacker auctioning scene?
Eweek reports that hackers are selling exploits of Windows Vista for anything in the region of $20,000 to $30,000, with some priced as high as $50,000. Raimund Genes, Trend Micro's chief technology officer, told Eweek:
"I think the malware industry is making more money than the anti-malware industry."
The report goes on to give a hacker's price list:
- Custom Trojan designed to steal account information - $1,000 to $2,000
- Botnet-building malware - $5,000 to $20,000
- Credit Card Numbers & PINs - $500
- Social Security Number, Address, Date of Birth - $80
- Drivers License - $150
- Birth Certificates - $150
- Paypal or eBay account credentials - $7
The question of who is actually buying these viruses and exploits remains up in the air. What is interesting is the revelation of the existence of an eBay-a-like for hackers and their clients. Surely the only customers with enough money to pay these outrageous prices are anti-viral companies and software vendors like Microsoft.
Surprised by the prices? Give us your impressions in the forums.
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Comments (4)Stats: 0.062 seconds
Us people that work for legal operations (esp. civil service) get paid less then other.
That's going to go down well...