Full disclosure of how hackers sell your account in the black market
Page 1: Hackers are big sellers
In today's Internet, data leakage has almost become a landscape. The endless incidents of information theft often cause a lot of media attention. Hackers often sell information in the underground black market after stealing it, but how is the huge amount of data sold? How does this underground market work? Who will buy these illegal gains?
Hackers are big sellers
To understand these problems, the first thing to know is the composition of this dark industrial chain. We usually hear that the most hackers are at the end of the industrial chain. They use their own technology to steal user data and collect corresponding information. The data information collected by the hacker will be sold to a third party or hacker representative, and the buyer will finally buy the information.
We already know that these accounts are illegal gains, so what can buyers do when they buy them? Generally speaking, buyers can withdraw cash directly from some shopping accounts or bank cards and credit cards. Some social media accounts can be disguised as victims to surf the Internet, and can be used to brush favorable comments, fans and other behaviors that infringe the reputation of victims.
Hackers conduct business in the black market
Because the stolen information is sold in the underground black market and has a secret nature, it is difficult to quantify the information sold in general. However, most sellers will promote their data services in retail forums such as Amazon, and then the sellers and buyers will negotiate with each other to reach a deal. After the sales are completed, both parties will not leave any traces.
So what is the black market transaction like? Foreign experts found some data after investigating the income of buyers and sellers. Recently, hackers claimed to steal and sell 32 million Twitter account passwords, and this batch of data earned them about 1 million to 2 million dollars.
Hackers and buyers have huge profits
It is not only hackers who benefit from these accounts. Buyers of these accounts have also made about 1.7 million to 3.4 million dollars from these accounts. On the one hand, there is demand, on the other hand, there are powerful hackers as the source of supply. This huge profit space is also one of the reasons for the frequent data leakage events in recent years.
Page 2: Wandering on the Edge
Wandering on the edge of darkness
The underground data market has always existed. And facts have proved that this market is very similar to Amazon and other shopping websites. They publicize in different market forums, but they can hide in the public. The operators of this market provide buyers with payment methods and channels to receive products.
Dark net, also known as deep net
This kind of website is essentially different from ordinary websites. They are not completely open platforms. Traditional websites can be accessed through web browsers like Chrome or Firefox, which are not applicable here. This kind of network, which is stored in the database and cannot be accessed through hyperlinks, is called "dark network" because of its small number but huge operational space.
The essence of the Dark Web is a collection of resources accessed by dynamic web technology. Users need to use special encryption software and browser protocols to access them. Therefore, Tor service technology is widely used by users and the location of these websites. At present, it is not clear how many underground trading markets there are in the world, but Tor service technology is making this platform more and more.
Diversified joint and several payment methods for black transactions
The seller of this information will publish the type, pricing and quantity of data on the website, and the potential buyer will contact them, and then the seller will determine the payment method. Generally speaking, sellers will choose one of various electronic mechanisms for online payment, such as WebMoney Yandex, Bitcoin, etc. But there are also sellers who will accept realistic payment, such as Western Union MoneyGram, etc. But in this way, they will charge extra fees to pay for intermediary delivery fees and international hard currency costs.
The data is transferred through online chat or an email account designated by the seller. After the transaction between the two parties is concluded, the seller delivers the products within a few hours or days after the buyer pays the account.
Page 3: The stubborn disease of the black market is hard to get rid of
The market feedback mechanism is gradually becoming
At the same time, a new problem arises. Because the two parties adopt the method of paying first and then delivering goods, once the seller breaches the contract, such as no data is sent or the information is invalid, the buyer will be very passive. Because the transaction itself belongs to black transaction, any traditional legal institution will not be able to solve the problem for it.
Black trading is not protected
In order to balance the relationship between the two parties, social forces are often allowed to play a role in the black market, so as to minimize the risks of sellers and buyers. In these markets, operators often establish a comment mechanism so that buyers and sellers can make public comments and negotiate.
Although both parties operate anonymously, user names exist, and long-term transactions will establish their own reputation in the market. Comments and transaction feedback can also promote the transparency and trust of the market.
An intractable disease
As the black market has been established for a longer time, positive or negative feedback will appear under the same seller's name. However, due to the particularity of the black market, it is difficult for buyers to find out who is trustworthy. These feedback will be displayed to all users, but the rules will not be displayed, which will also make some new users suffer.
At present, some IT experts suggest taking some feasible measures to destroy these black markets, but the black market at the edge of the law and technology has survived tenaciously. How to solve them thoroughly is still a headache.
