How Cyber Criminals/Hackers Make Money

At some point in nearly everyone’s life, they will come across cyber-criminals/hackers. Cyber-attacks are becoming more and more commonplace, with cybercrime costing the global economy roughly one trillion dollars per year. As technology gets more advanced, cybercrimes get more destructive, making it incredibly important to know how cyber criminals make money. In today’s world, cybercrime threatens many aspects of our daily lives.

Demanding Ransom

The cyber criminals have a few different methods for making money off of their cyber-attacks. Some cybercriminals use ransomware to lock a victim’s computer and demand a ransom in order to get the computer back.

With cyber-attacks becoming more serious, cybercriminals are now using cyberwarfare techniques, such as DDoS attacks, to shut down hospitals, banks, and police stations. The organizations/ businesses must then pay a large sum to get the digital systems and sites back, and even that might not be enough.

Cyberfraud

Some hackers trick users into disclosing personal and financial informations through misleading pop-up ads, fraudulent websites, and deceptive contact measures. These hackers may alert computer users that they need to input their financial information again to pay a recent bill they ‘missed’, or use virus technology to infiltrate their computer and gain access to saved financial information.

Selling User Data

Some hackers might gain access to business databases containing personal data of individuals including names, birthdates, phone numbers, social security numbers, health records, financial information, and much more. The cybercriminal can then sell this data to someone who wants to exploit the information.

In 2013, one hacker was able to gain access to credit card numbers of more than 40 million customers at Target stores. After stealing this information, he sold it online for $30,000 and charged about $2 million of Target’s customers.

Attack for Sale

There are cyber criminals who will not just attack anyone and everyone, but they will sell cyber-attacks as a service to those that want to cyber-attack certain targets or individuals. This has made cybercrime into more of a business than ever before, and many cyber criminals make a living off of performing intricate and cost-inducing cyberattacks toward the enemy of their ‘client’.

Cybercrime can be quite dangerous, and you might be curious if anyone has already gained access to your information through various cyber hacks. IT businesses like Envision can not only ensure that you are taking any and all preventative measures necessary to avoid cyberattacks in the future, but can perform dark web scans to ensure that no one already has access to your information. For questions about cybercrime prevention and monitoring, contact Envision today!