The small business of cybercriminals does not know the crisis. As this new study by Kaspersky, which analyzed the job market on the dark web, shows, online criminals are recruiting and do not hesitate to offer very high monthly salaries.
Like any business, cyber crime groups need manpower to conduct their malicious operations. After analyzing more than 200,000 offers, Kaspersky draws up an assessment of the job market on the dark web.
Is it a good situation, does it hack?
From monthly salaries to paid holidays and sick leave, cybercriminal groups operate like small businesses. After analyzing the thousands of job offers published on 155 dark web sites between March 2020 and June 2022, this new study gives a fairly precise view of the profiles sought by hackers.
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Thus, 61% of paid job offers posted on the underground web were addressed to developers. The latter are among the highest monthly salaries, reaching up to $20,000 per month. In the second position of the advertisements published, we find the “attack specialists” whose salaries exceeded $15,000 per month.
Among the other jobs offered, there are in particular offers for designers, network administrators, analysts, testers or even reverse engineers who are responsible for studying an object to determine its internal functioning. The median salary for this position was between approximately $2,000 and $7,000. For other positions, the salaries offered are lower: between $1,300 and $4,000.
To attract candidates, 8% of advertisements offered paid holidays. 45% of the positions were telecommuting, 34% were full-time jobs and 33% allowed flexible hours. Offers that may seem attractive for young computer science graduates or people who cannot find a job on the legal labor market.
If necessary, however, Kaspersky would like to remind you of a few important points:
“It should be noted that the risks associated with working for a dark web employer always outweigh the benefits. […] The absence of a legally enforced employment contract relieves employers of all liability. A worker might not be paid or involved in a fraudulent scheme. »
The recruitment process
After responding to the advertisements, the skills level of the candidates is generally tested to ensure that they can carry out the assignment(s). Recruiters can also request a CV and a portfolio. One time out of four, this leads to a job interview, as a traditional company would.
In one of the examples given by Kaspersky, a job offer offered $300 in Bitcoin to give it a first try before going any further. Some more advanced tests took the form of a multi-step recruitment process, with a reward each time.
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A recruitment process that leaves nothing to chance and allows hackers to structure teams to carry out their malicious operations. Some people see these job openings as opportunities to make a quick buck when there is a lack of attractive offers on the “traditional” market.
As Kaspersky reminds us, working for a dark web employer involves significant risks, which can go as far as prison time.
Kaspersky
