Cybercrime was once the domain of a few geniuses characterized by a hooded silhouette and glamorized as vigilantes in dramas such as Mr. Robot (IMDb 8.5/10). They pretended to be super-heroes, saving humanity from corrupt capitalists and other alleged evils. Those were the days, weren't they? However, cybercrime's golden age is passed, and with it, the belief that only those deserving of a hack will fall victim.
To become a cybercriminal today, technical skills are no longer essential. Anyone can become involved by paying for hacking as a service, just like any other sort of labor. “Cybercrime-as-a-Service” is the official term.
“Cybercrime as a Service (CaaS) is an umbrella term used to describe a structured business model in which malware makers, hackers, and other threat actors sell or loan their hacking tools and services to people on the dark web,” according to MakeUseOf.com. This makes cybercrime weapons and services available to anyone who wants to launch a cyberattack, even if they don't have technical skills.”
To put it another way, anyone can attack anyone else—the more complex the attack, the more money you'll have to pay. Engineers, leaders, developers, money mules, and tech support representatives are common job roles among cybercrime suppliers. They advertise malware kits, stolen accounts, device tracking, and hackers for rent, among other cyberweapons, in underground forums.
The new version of an old data stealer known as "Xloader" is a current and typical incidence of CaaS.
At $49 per license, this virus is an attractive option for even the most unskilled and underfunded crooks. Xloader steals your login credentials, takes screenshots as you work, executes dangerous apps in the background, and records your keystrokes. If you think your Mac is safe, keep in mind that Xloader is capable of hacking both PCs and Macs, with the majority of the hacks taking place in the United States.
So now you're aware of the cyberweapons arsenal at your disposal. But what about the weapons? It's not an issue. Researchers and bug bounty hunters supply a plethora of public vulnerability databases with information ranging from flaws in your desktop PC or Mac to exploitable problems in Internet-connected insulin pumps. CVEdetails.com, Shodan, and Exploit-DB are only a few examples. Hackers and defenders have equal access to these well-intentioned, publicly accessible sources, setting the scene for a race between the bad guys launching an assault and the good guys providing a "patch" for enterprises and their IT departments to apply.
Individuals and businesses must be more watchful than ever before if they fear they have been hacked or anticipate a cyber attack. When this approach is accompanied by appropriate counsel, training, and best practices, it will automatically lead to the right actions. Keep in mind that security is everyone's responsibility.
