Hackers offering customer support and loyalty schemes
Dell SecureWork’s annual hacker report reveals a burgeoning market for personal identity information, ATM skimming machines, stolen credit-card numbers and general hacker-style ‘services’ such as hacking email.
As well as items such as skimming machines and malware getting cheaper, hackers are upping their marketing game amid increasing competition. According to Dell SecureWorks’ study, “Like any other market in a capitalist system, the business of cybercrime is guided by the supply and demand for various goods and services. Unfortunately for the law abiding public, both sides of that equation remain strong, with everything from credit cards to hacker-for-hire services being sold online”.
Today’s hackers are slashing prices and will sort out a DDOS attack for as little as US$5 per hour, or maybe you need a physical counterfeit French driver’s license (US$238), or an ATM skimming device (US$400). Or, perhaps you want to get in on the action – they will teach you how in online tutorials starting from US$20.
And, it’s not just an attractive price list that today’s hackers are offering.
Savvy hackers are promoting themselves with frequent customers discounts, even service guarantees, and others are touting that they can be available 24/7 for customer support. Self-promotion is high on their list of tactics, too, with profiles detailing their level of professionalism, experience, the tools they use and even their… honesty.
