Cybercriminals are known to steal user login information to sell on the black market. The deal here is that we are often unaware of how much our data and passwords are worth, which is what Trend Micro is out to fix. The cybersecurity company has created a simple calculator to demonstrate just how much other people can make from our stolen data.
According to a 2016 survey by Trend Micro, some 29 million records were breached in 657 incidents. The company admits that this number is a good 18-percent lower than the amount in 2015; but it is still alarming nonetheless.
The price of the user information made using a conservative estimate; with a baseline created by looking into the French underground market. Researchers probed the dark net to figure out just how much money can be made from selling user credentials; and it is no small amount.
Interestingly, personal credit card information is not particularly expensive. A single card only goes for $1 (about RM4.20). Login information for Uber, Twitter, and even Google+ are worth substantially more.
It’s rare that we get an idea of how much money can be made from selling stolen credentials. It should be noted that Trend Micro did not include email logins in the calculator, possibly because a single email account isn’t actually worth all that much. Which is understandable as email accounts are the most likely to become exposed; increasing the amount of supply available.
