The underground of the Internet, the sulphurous Dark Web, is, among other things, the site of a vast illegal market where personal data stolen from social networks is sold. And modeled on supermarkets, the sales are going well! Once again this year, the site PrivacyAffairs, specializing in cybersecurity, updated its study Dark Web Price Index 2021 who took an interest in the prices of hacked social media accounts. Between Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter, how much is your profile worth?
Your Facebook accounts and Instagram interest the pirates of the Dark Web for years, but this black market is evolving. Researchers have analyzed the hidden face of this illegal trade on internet and reveal the rates for this traffic. Some numbers may surprise you. ” Whether it’s the increased supply of hacked information or the dwindling value of an individual hacked account, the prices of hacked social media accounts appear to be dropping across platforms. “, Unveiled the study baptized Dark Web Price Index 2021, conducted by researchers at Privacy Affairs. The analysts looked at the various Dark Web marketplaces, forums and sites in order to create an index of average prices by variety of products.
Who, from Facebook, Instagram or Twitter has the best odds?
Regarding social networks, the prices have almost all fallen with one exception: a hacked Facebook account is now sold for 65 dollars, against 75 dollars in 2020. The hacked accounts on Instagram were now sold at $ 45, up from $ 55 last year. It takes $ 35 to afford a hacked account on Twitter while it was necessary to spend $ 14 more in 2020. Accounts hacked on Gmail are the ones showing the biggest difference with a drop of 76 dollars. In 2020, these hacked accounts were valued at $ 156, compared to $ 80 currently.
The business of buying followers
If the prices of hacked accounts on social networks have largely declined, the purchase of subscribers has increased only for LinkedIn. For 1,000 additional subscribers, it will cost two dollars more than in 2020, or 12 dollars. The researchers found very low prices, in particular to obtain 1,000 subscribers on Instagram by paying only 5 dollars or even barely 2 dollars for 1,000 subscribers on Spotify. 100 Instagram “likes” are sold for $ 5 while 1,000 retweets on Twitter are priced more, but still affordable at $ 25. Practices that demonstrate the ease with which users on social networks can develop their community and therefore their influence in appearance.
Hacked accounts sold on sale
While the study showed an increase in the supply sold on the Dark Web, the researchers also found a wider range of supply, including hacked accounts from theapplication Uber. A real illegal market which even seems to take up the selling points of large-scale distribution by offering sales, adds Privacy Affairs. This drop in prices can be explained in particular by the many security measures put in place to better verify connections on the different platforms thanks, among other things, to two-factor authentication. Parameters that make this company more laborious and less and less profitable.
Ransom in exchange for your information
However, some hackers and Dark Web customers may use this information for larger scams. If the prices charged by hackers are far from reaching the $ 50 million required by Russian pirates who attacked each other to the latest product information fromApple, malicious people who have requested this “service” can use this information to directly exploit the victims concerned. ” We’ve heard all the horror stories of unsuspecting victims losing their lives or hackers selling camera footage in the deepest corners of the web. », Explained Privacy Affairs. Blackmail ranging from revenge porn the stealing of your bank details with sums that can go up very high.
These hacks can sometimes take on global proportions like the scandal that splashed Twitter in July 2020. Hackers had managed to infiltrate the accounts of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and even Barack Obama and Joe Biden in order to collect bitcoins. An international scam that started with the hacking of Twitter employee accounts and which cost some social network users dearly.
How much is your data worth on the dark web?
Article ofEdward Back, published on June 22, 2020
The site PrivacyAffairs, specialized in cybersecurity, has just published its study Dark Web Price Index 2020. This reveals the prices displayed on the dark web to buy bank cards, passports, identity cards as well as many personal data.
The “dark web” is the hidden face of the Internet, where everything is sold, including your personal data. Site researchers PrivacyAffairs wanted to know if it was difficult to obtain this information, and at what cost. They therefore conducted a survey on the dark web and published the average prices of the various services offered.
Sellers offer different categories of data, starting with Bank cards accompanied by the name, address, e-mail and telephone number of the owners. These cost an average of 12 to 20 US dollars, depending on the amount ofsilver on the account. The credentials to access the bank account are displayed from 35 dollars.
Reselling data is a lucrative business
The dark web also allows you to buy everything you need to identity theft. Count only $ 70 for an American driver’s license, or $ 550 for a European identity card. For a passport from Europe, Canada or the United States, it will cost 1,500 dollars on average. The researchers also published the prices of social media accounts. A hacked account on Instagram or Twitter costs around $ 50, an amount that increases to nearly $ 75 for a Facebook account, and more than $ 155 for an account Gmail.
Researchers also documented sales of malwares, or rather d’infections which can be used again to steal personal information. Prices start at $ 70 per thousand infections worldwide, but climb to $ 2,300 per thousand “high quality” infections in Europe. These figures show that personal data is a lucrative market. It is important to remember to protect yourself online, especially by installing an antivirus and avoiding using the same password on different sites.
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