Stolen Twitter accounts are more valuable than credit cards on the black market

With the spike of social media  Cyber crimes are increasing. The cyber black markets and the hacking community are growing and maturing. A report released this month by the Juniper Network and the Rand Corporation regarding cyber crime on the black market which explains how they impact certain markets. On the black market the demand for credit card information is diminishing since there is an overload of information on the market. On the other hand Social media and other online accounts are now becoming more valuable.

From Hack to Cash

Why these accounts are so valuable 

As stated by the  authors of the report: “Traditionally, credit card information was the currency of the black market. It demanded a high price, ranging from $20-$40 on average. However, high profile breaches have created a recent influx of available credit card data online. As a result the scarcity and value of the stolen information is decreasing. During a large credit card breach, the market becomes flooded with data causing prices to drop from $20 per record to $0.75 per record in a short amount of time.”

Hackers are after Social media accounts since they are worth from $16 to $325+ depending on the account. Twitter accounts cost are more valuable because it gives hackers access too much more information than a credit cards. Since 30% to 40% percent of Internet users use the same password for their different website accounts, hacking one account will open access to other accounts such as online banking and e-commerce. In other words by stealing  information of one user on one site, the hacker could gain access to the users information in other sites.

Michael Callagan from Juniper Networls explain why hacking Social Media Accounts is a successful businesss

“A Twitter account costs more to purchase than a stolen credit card because the former’s account credentials potentially have a greater yield. Immediately after a large breach, freshly acquired credit cards command a higher price as there is greater possibility for the credit cards to still be active. But after time, prices fall because the market becomes flooded.”

How to protect your accounts

As stated before most  people use the same password for their social media and other Internet accounts to make it easier to remember it. However, using the same password for all or most of the accounts facilitates the hacker to access information of the user  different accounts. So it’s important to keep in mind to use different passwords for each account and change them constantly, this might get confusing but it can prevent an account from getting hacked. As well it is important to be aware of emails and the emails one clicks, avoid going to a link from unknown senders. In addition, monitoring personal and financial accounts closely helps individuals to identify fraudulent activity in their accounts.