According to data from 155 dark web forums from January 2020 to June 2022, attackers were consistently organized to run malicious campaigns, buy and sell code, and share job ads. was
of security experts surveyed Kaspersky It also suggests that the most ads were posted in March 2020 in relation to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A significant number of people are willing to engage in illegal or quasi-legal activities despite the risks involved. ,” reads an advisory issued by Kaspersky earlier today.
By job type, 61% of the total are developers, followed by attack specialists (16%) and designers (10%).
“Developer also topped the list of highest-paid dark web IT jobs,” Kaspersky wrote. “The highest monthly salary I saw in a developer’s ad was $20,000.”
In terms of other salaries, the average salary levels offered to IT professionals ranged from $1,300 to $4,000, with the highest median salary advertised for reverse engineers at $4,000.
“Such offers come, among other things, from hacker groups,” he said. technical articles“Cybercriminals need expert staff with specific skills to infiltrate an organization’s infrastructure, steal sensitive data, or encrypt systems for subsequent extortion. increase.”
Kaspersky also revealed that while many individuals who explore dark web sites do so to look for work in hopes of easy money and substantial financial gains, many often do not. bottom.
“The salaries offered on the dark web are rarely substantially higher than those legally available. […]Nevertheless, dissatisfied with their salaries, a significant percentage of employees in the legitimate economy quit their jobs and found similar jobs on dark web markets. “
Kaspersky’s advisory concludes by warning individuals about the risks of being prosecuted, tried, and imprisoned for misconduct resulting from their involvement with such threat actors.
“The risks of working with hacker groups are particularly high, and anonymizing members is a priority for cybercrime investigative teams. This group could sooner or later be exposed, and its members could face prison terms.” .”
This report comes days after Cybersixgill revealed 91% YoY increase Deep and dark web ads and sellers promoting counterfeit currency.
