New Symantec Report Reveals Booming Underground Economy
Value of total advertised goods on underground economy servers during
12-month period was more than $276 million
CUPERTINO, Calif. Nov. 24, 2008 Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC)
today released its Report on the Underground Economy. The report
details an online underground economy that has matured into an
efficient, global marketplace 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 $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.
Credit card information is the most advertised category of goods and
services on the underground economy, accounting for 31 percent of the
total. While stolen credit card numbers sell for as little as $0.10 to
$25 per card, the average advertised stolen credit card limit observed
by Symantec was more than $4,000. Symantec has calculated that the
potential worth of all credit cards advertised during the reporting
period was $5.3 billion.
The popularity of credit card information is likely due to the many
ways this information can be obtained and used for fraud; credit cards
are easy to use for online shopping and it's often difficult for
merchants or credit providers to identify and address fraudulent
transactions before fraudsters complete these transactions and receive
their goods. Also, credit card information is often sold to fraudsters
in bulk, with discounts or free numbers provided with larger purchases.
The second most common category of goods and services advertised was
financial accounts at 20 percent of the total. While stolen bank
account information sells for between $10 and $1,000, the average
advertised stolen bank account balance is nearly $40,000. Calculating
the average advertised balance of a bank account together with the
average price for stolen bank account numbers, the worth of the bank
accounts advertised during this reporting period was $1.7 billion. The
popularity of financial account information is likely due to its
potential for high payouts and the speed at which payouts can be made.
In one case, financial accounts were cashed out online to untraceable
locations in less than 15 minutes.
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 $16.3 million for credit cards and $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 $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.
Quote
* "As evidenced by the Report on the Underground Economy,
today's cybercriminals are thriving off of information they are
gathering without permission from consumers and businesses," said
Stephen Trilling, vice president, Symantec Security Technology and
Response. "As these individuals and groups continue to devise new
tools and techniques to defraud legitimate users around the globe,
protection and mitigation against such attacks must become an
international priority."
Relevant Link
To read additional key findings and obtain more about the underground
economy, visit the following resource:
* Symantec Internet Security Threat Report XIII
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20081123_01
