February 24, 2019

  • Experts warn of 'thriving illicit trade' in personal information on the dark web

    Hackers 6

    Someone could be logging into your Facebook account for as little as $9, or tweeting as you for much less, according to the latest trading prices on the dark web.

    Sale prices for stolen IDs, personal information, and hacked accounts in both the US and UK have emerged as part of a new online security study.

    Login details for some sites are being traded for under $1.30, including Ticketmaster and Skype.  The most expensive uncovered were personal banking details, with bank card logins costing an average of $460.

    The revelations come from Top10vpn.com, which has just released its latest figures for stolen personal information prices on the 'dark web'.  It published the latest prices as a price index for both the US and UK.

    Simon Migliano, Head of Research at top10vpn.com called the online market in personal data a 'thriving illicit trade in stolen personal information'.  He noted that while someone's 'full online identity' can cost as much as $1,050, individual account information are on sale for single figures.

    In the UK, streaming sites have recently become popular targets for cyber-criminals, and their prices are increasing.   Netflix accounts are going for around $10.50, together with Uber and Fortnite data.  One of the cheapest was Twitter, which only costs $2, which is still a 28 per cent increase on last year's price.  Facebook saw an 86 per cent uptick in worth this year, but still only costing just under $9.

    Dark web UK market price index  February 2019 
    Name of website  Average Price  Avg. Price Change
    British Airways £31.94 +375%
    Morrisons £15.95 N/A
    Amazon £14.53 +114%
    Apple £8.67 -21%
    Netflix £8.19 +37%
    Uber £7.61 +52%
    Facebook £6.96 +86%
    Airbnb £4.78 -16%
    Nando's £2.44 N/A

    The price of data from British Airways has shot up since its mass data breach from September last year as well as Facebook following its Cambridge Analytica scandal.

    Mr Migliano added: 'The short, scary answer is that some of your personal data is almost certainly already for sale on the dark web.  The first step is to find out which of your accounts have been stolen.'

    'Have I Been Pwned should be your first port of call, as it’ll help you find out which of your email accounts and old passwords have been compromised.  If you have been breached, change your passwords'.

    Referring to the situation of US price index, which is significantly different to the UK, Mr Migliano added: 'Hacked data is cheap on the dark web: most individual accounts sell for less than $15, even big names like Apple, Fortnite, Netflix and Airbnb.  Notable exceptions to the rule include Facebook and Amazon accounts, which have soared in value since last year.'

    Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk