“Hackers for Hire” (HfH) services on the dark web are returning to prominence, as the economic activity in the world is getting back on track. Researchers at Binary Defense have done a round of the most notorious markets of this kind, collecting the most blatant examples of HfH services while providing an interesting insight into how much they cost. Of course, the dark web is a vast place, and the following examples are just a sample to give you an idea of what’s out there.
According to the report, the most prevalent HfH groups right now are the following:
The services offered by the above hackers include social media hacking, like Facebook and Twitter password retrieval. This would enable the buyer to take over the target account and engage in a series of malicious acts like impersonation and extortion. The hackers aren’t giving many details about how they manage to retrieve the user passwords, and neither do they mention any exemptions or limitations. Supposedly, everyone on Facebook and Twitter can be hacked as long as someone pays for it. The story is the same for email account hacking, with the hackers promising to be able to steal Outlook, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, and any other private or corporate account.
Then there is the offer to change grades on schools and universities, steal the teacher’s email password and “correct” details like how many classes you’ve missed or grade yourself with an A-plus in Math. Speaking of education, many HfH groups are also offering hacking courses for those who want to learn how to do stuff on their own.
And then there is the price catalog for some more “practical” stuff like the launching of DDoS attacks (from $99), destroying somebody’s life (from $699), and damage a company’s reputation (from $899). These services include bad reviews, negative ad campaigns, site defacement, site takedown, and many more.
If you are already primed for paying these crooks to buy their services, you should take a moment to think about the setting, the guarantees, and the people involved. Everything is obscure, anonymous, unofficial, and wicked. This is an unethical affair, and the hackers will almost certainly just grab your money and do nothing of what they promised. All of this is illegal anyway, so if the hackers get caught, you may be traced backed and prosecuted as well. The whole concept is just not worth your time and investment, and you shouldn’t fuel these fraudulent operations no matter what's going on in your life.