Our correspondent Andreas Frank reports cybercrime on the rise. Summarizing a Rand Report which we have attached below, Frank notes:
- Economic Maturity: The hacker black market mirrors that of other free markets in both evolution and growth. RAND found five key indicators of economic maturity, including sophistication, specialization, accessibility, reliability and resilience.
- More Profitable than Drug Trade: RAND’s report suggests the cyber black markets are a maturing, multi-billion-dollar economy, with robust infrastructure and social organization. In fact, RAND found the black market can be more profitable than the illegal drug trade. The links to end-users on the black market are more direct and worldwide distribution, being electronic, is trivial.
- Rise of Twitter: In any traditional market, the yield or scarcity of a product influences its price. RAND found product prices on the illicit market are no different. Traditionally, credit card information was the currency of the black market, demanding high prices, ranging from $20-$40. However, high-profile breaches have created a recent influx of available credit card data. As a result, the scarcity and value of the stolen credit card information is decreasing. At the same time, social media and other online accounts are increasing in value due to scarcity on the market and a greater payoff for cyber criminals. RAND found hacking into accounts like Twitter can generate per-account revenues of $16 to $325+ depending on the account type.
- Implications for Those Defending: One of the most disturbing and surprising findings from RAND is the increasingly rapid maturity of the market. RAND believes the ability to attack will outpace the ability for companies to defend. Juniper believes we must change the economics of hacking. Using forms of Active Defense like intrusion deception to actively identify, disrupt and frustrate attackers is a very promising approach. Rand Report on Cybercrime
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