Dark Web Market To Hit US$8 trillion in 2023: Karspersky

The dark web is a thriving marketplace for a wide range of illicit goods and services, from confidential information and hacking services to drugs, weapons and forged documents. This underground economy has even created a lucrative job market, with average monthly salaries reaching US$20,000.

Despite experiencing its peak during March 2020 due to the economic decline triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, cybercrime services offered in the dark web are estimated to reach US$8 trillion by the end of 2023. Between January 2020 and June 2022, Kaspersky has found more than 200,000 job ads posted on 155 dark web forums, proving the recent commercial potential of this illicit sector.

"Like any other business, cybercrime requires manpower. New team members for cyberattacks and other illegal activities are recruited right where the business takes place: on the dark web," says Kaspersky.

Some seeking jobs in the dark web face obstacles barring them from other employment, reports Kaspersky. These challenges include criminal records, fugitive status, illegal immigration, lack of education or a damaged reputation within the IT community. While high salaries are offered in dark web job proposals, some positions provide payment based on a percentage of profits, including ransom payments made by victims looking to recover their compromised data.

Estimates of economic losses linked to illegal activities on the dark web reveal a thriving commercial landscape. Cybersecurity Ventures reports that if cybercrime profitability could be measured as a country, it would rank as the world's third-largest economy, trailing closely behind the US and China. The global costs of cybercrime damages will grow by 15% annually over the next five years, reaching US$10.5 trillion by 2025, reports Cybersecurity Ventures. Moreover, damages caused by ransomware attacks alone are projected to exceed US$265 billion by 2031.

Mexican businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks, as previously reported by MBN. Most Mexican companies allocate less than 1% of their budget to cybersecurity services, found a study by Alestra. 

Cybercrime services offered in the dark web can range from destruction of information to theft of intellectual property, breaches of confidential information and fraud. However, according to the Privacy Affairs Index for the first quarter of 2023, the most expensive service available in the dark web market is the acquisition of malware designed to damage digital devices, services or networks. Following closely behind is the sale of login credentials, with prices reaching $4,255 for an ING digital bank account and $4,200 for a HSBC commercial account.

The exponential growth of the dark web's economy is driven by the sheer volume of information, which Cybersecurity Ventures estimates will reach 200 zettabytes by 2025. This includes data stored in public and private IT infrastructures, utility infrastructures, private and public cloud data centers and personal computing devices — each at constant risk of being compromised by hackers. This underscores the importance of investing in cybersecurity solutions and urgently establishing standardized cybersecurity policies to enable effective prosecution of cybercrime.

The dark web represents a vast and intricate online ecosystem, where confidential information is traded and illegal activities thrive. Its economic influence is increasingly significant and it has propelled cybercrime around the world, making it a growing global concern. However, while the dark web offers lucrative job opportunities for the unemployed, it also poses serious challenges in terms of cybersecurity and data protection.

"Cyberattacks have evolved from targeting computers, networks, and smartphones to encompassing individuals, automobiles, railways, aircraft and power grids — any entity with a heartbeat or an electronic pulse," warns Cybersecurity Ventures.