According to the research, one possible reason behind the significant increase in the number of cyberattacks over the past few years is the low cost and easiness of owning off-the-shelf malware and ransomware on the Internet. According to the analysts Cybernews (a research organisation) there has been an increase of 64 percent increase in attacks since 2014. Moreover, there has been a rise in impacted individuals with 4.1 billion user records exposed in the first half of 2019.
For the research, CyberNews visited popular darknet marketplaces and analyzed the availability of malware programs for sale, the cost of the malware tools on offer, as well as the availability of customer support for these types of tools.
The concern is that would-be hackers need very little technical knowledge to start owning malware. To support malicious actors, there are plenty of tutorials and low cost tools available on the market.
Some companies are responding to these concerns. For example, YouTube has tightened their screening for videos which go against their terms of service in relation to cybersecurity issues. Despite increased vigilance from Google, it remains relatively straightforward to find tutorials on how to become a hacker.
Although YouTube has recently banned any video related to the inaccurate and dangerous conspiracy theory that the 5G network is responsible for COVID-19, however the same level of assessment has yet to be taken by YouTube in relation to hacker tutorial videos.
The research also finds that an increase in the available (and diversity) of cryptocurrency has been identified as one of the main necessities to buy malware and become a hacker. The findings also indicate that with more people losing their jobs and staying indoors, there has been an increase in people turning to hacking (or at least considering it). This ties in with the availability of tutorials on YouTube, demonstrating how easy it can be to learn such tactics.
