Geekonomics

Poor economy? Not for these folks!

I had the privilege of being briefed on the Symantec Report on the "underground economy" recently published on November 2008.

The report showed us a booming online underground economy in which stolen goods and fraud-related services are regularly bought and sold, and where the estimated value of goods offered by individual traders is measured in millions of dollars. The report is derived from data gathered by Symantec’s Security Technology and Response (STAR) organization, from underground economy servers between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008.

The potential value of total advertised goods observed by Symantec was more than US$276 million for the reporting period. This value was determined using the advertised prices of the goods and services and measured how much advertisers would make if they liquidated their inventory. Stuff that are being traded include credit card information, identity, server accounts, financial accounts, spam/phishing info, gaming accounts, Web site info, etc. 

Credit card information is the most advertised category of goods and services on the underground economy, accounting for 31 percent of the total. Interestingly, I found out that cards with with CVV sold for US$0.50 to US$12, while plain numbers sold for US$0.10 to US$25. Without CVV can fetch higher price? Strange economy this one.

During the reporting period, Symantec observed 69,130 distinct active advertisers and 44,321,095 total messages posted to underground forums. The potential value of the total advertised goods for the top 10 most active advertisers was US$16.3 million for credit cards and US$2 million for bank accounts. Furthermore, the potential worth of the goods advertised by the single most active advertiser identified by Symantec during the study period was US$6.4 million.

The underground economy is geographically diverse and generates revenue for cybercriminals who range from loose collections of individuals to organized and sophisticated groups. During this reporting period, North America hosted the largest number of such servers, with 45 percent of the total; Europe/Middle East/Africa hosted 38 percent; followed by Asia Pacific with 12 percent and Latin America with 5 percent. The geographical locations of underground economy servers are constantly changing to evade detection.

Looking at the report, one can infer that the penetration of Internet connectivity correlates directly to the underground trading activities. i.e. more internet penetration, more activities. Obvious right?

This study covered only public Web sites and IRC servers. Imagine how much more goes on in private Web sites and servers. The underground economy is booming, indeed! So my question for the weekend is, are YOU contributing to the underground economy today? If you have been and are sick and tired of it, here are some quick and simple tips for you:

Tip 1: Use strong passwords--upppercase, lowercase, special characters, and change it regularly.

Tip 2: Do not use the password manager within your browser because it is a single collection of poorly protected information which can be easily stolen. (Norton Internet Security 2009 and even some other 2009 products have much better identity protection for your browsers).

Tip 3: Use a layered approached. For example, use a firewall, comprehensive antivirus software and antiphishing tools. And trust me, most freeware out there can't provide you layered protection.

While briefing me on this report, the kind folks at Norton also shared with me something interesting called the Norton Safe Web (NSW), which is rolling out soon. NSW provides automated analysis of Web sites, impact to users, and makes it easy for users to differentiate between safe and malicious Web sites. It is currently in beta but you can download a beta version from nortonlabs.com, which is installed as a plugin to NIS 2009.

TGIF, folks, and happy safe surfing!

Recent Comments

prizeKing: I'm fairy intrigued to see how the combination of a new technology and Jack Dorsey's experience / backing gets ... more »

Samu7: how can I play fifa for free?? more »

jono007: nice review Nick. As an E71 user, I am tempted by the 5mp cam and that interesting touch sensitive ... more »

Geekonomics: @scoobydoo - John answered your question already :) The touch-sensitive center selector is a very interesting feature indeed. Definitely ... more »

zorkor: Even though I'm a Nokia fan, I think blackberry is still the best when it comes to emailing messaging ... more »

scoobydoo: Great! Thanks for clearing that up! more »

Most Discussed

8-megapix PDA-phone camera--Samsung Innov8  (45 comments)

Play FIFA online for free!  (43 comments)

O2 closes Asia office and stops making devices!  (38 comments)

Finally, Nokia's answer to the iPhone?  (32 comments)

Taking a good look at the Nokia N96  (23 comments)

Should Facebook setup office in Southeast Asia?  (22 comments)

Browse Archive

2009

 January  April  July  October

 February  May  August  November

 March  June  September

 

2008

 January  April  July  October

 February  May  August  November

 March  June  September  December

 

2007

 August  November

 September  December

 October