What it costs to hire a hacker on the Dark Web

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Though the last terms for a cybercriminal's services is usually negotiated, idiosyncratic attacks are the astir expensive, says Comparitech.

The Dark Web is location to a smorgasbord of amerciable and transgression products and services up for sale. And that surely encompasses the country of cybercrime. From website hacking to DDoS attacks to customized malware to changing schoolhouse grades, you tin bargain 1 of these services from a hacker for hire. But conscionable however overmuch bash these types of items cost? A blog station published Tuesday by user website Comparitech examines the types of hacking services disposable connected the Dark Web and scopes retired their prices.

SEE: The Dark Web: A usher for concern professionals (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

To behaviour its analysis, researchers astatine Comparitech examined much than 100 listings from 12 antithetic hacking services. The existent prices for galore services are negotiated based connected the time, scope, complexity and level of risk, according to Paul Bischoff, writer of the post. But Comparitech was inactive capable to find the mean prices for galore of these illicit services. The selling prices are usually listed successful bitcoin, which Comparitech converted to U.S. dollars for its report.

The astir costly point connected the paper was a idiosyncratic attack, usually 1 involving defamation, ineligible sabotage oregon fiscal disruption. Changing schoolhouse grades was the adjacent priciest service. All of the hackers request outgo up front, though immoderate committedness a refund if the hack fails.

Most of the hackers for prosecute volition judge a occupation lone if they judge they tin propulsion it off. One radical recovered by Comparitech adjacent says connected its website: "In astir 5-7% of cases, hacking is impossible." Most of the hackers accidental they tin decorativeness the enactment wrong 24 hours, though much precocious hacks could instrumentality days oregon weeks.

Personal attacks

Hackers who specialize successful idiosyncratic attacks merchantability their services for $551 connected average. A idiosyncratic onslaught could see fiscal sabotage, ineligible occupation oregon nationalist defamation. One maneuver touted by a hacker is to framework the unfortunate arsenic a purchaser of kid pornography. A fewer hackers connection specified services arsenic "scammer revenge" oregon "fraud tracking" successful which they volition onslaught a scammer.

Changing grades

Students who privation a higher people tin really wage idiosyncratic $526 connected mean to hack into a schoolhouse strategy and change their grades. Available for some people schools and universities, this is 1 of the astir communal hacking services and 1 of the astir expensive. As a sideline, immoderate hackers besides accidental they tin bargain the answers to aboriginal exams.

Website hacking

Website hacking costs connected mean $394 and includes attacks against websites and different services hosted online. One radical cited by Comparitech said it could entree an underlying web server oregon a website's administrative panel. Another radical touted that it could bargain databases and administrative credentials.

Computer and telephone hacking

A machine and telephone hacking work runs $343 connected average. In this benignant of attack, the hacker breaks into the victim's PC oregon telephone to bargain information oregon deploy malware. The operating strategy doesn't look to substance arsenic they boast that they tin entree Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, BlackBerry oregon Windows Phone.

Social media relationship hacking

Hacking into a societal media relationship costs connected mean $230. In this service, the hacker volition spy connected oregon hijack accounts from specified platforms arsenic WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype, Telegram, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit. The malicious enactment depends connected the service. Criminals who hack into a victim's Facebook oregon Twitter relationship volition often bargain credentials to springiness the purchaser afloat entree to the account. Those who pat into an relationship from WhatsApp are apt to spy connected messages oregon instrumentality screenshots.

Email hacking

Email hacking sells for $241 connected average. In this activity, the hacker steals the victim's email password and past either gives that password to the purchaser oregon breaks into the relationship to entree data. In immoderate cases, the transgression whitethorn acceptable up an email forwarded process to get a transcript of each the victim's emails.

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DDoS attacks

Hackers who connection Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks complaint connected mean $26 per hour, though prices alteration based connected the magnitude and bandwidth of the attack. Some hackers volition complaint by the hr oregon adjacent by the period to support an onslaught for arsenic agelong arsenic the purchaser wants.

Beyond the priced, mainstream services, Comparitech said it recovered different much niche services.

Some hackers volition interruption into a hospital's COVID-19 vaccine database to bargain the information oregon adhd their ain sanction to the database. Others volition alteration hunt motor results to rise oregon little a site's rankings. Some volition region a station that the purchaser enactment connected a societal network. And immoderate hackers volition audit the information of a website, seemingly to amusement the proprietor wherever immoderate vulnerabilities exist.

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