Security News > 2020 > July > Over 5 Billion Unique Credentials Offered on Cybercrime Marketplaces
More than 15 billion username and password pairs have been offered on cybercrime marketplaces, including over 5 billion unique credentials, according to a report published on Wednesday by San Francisco-based risk protection solutions provider Digital Shadows.
Over the past few years, Digital Shadows added to its breach repository more than 15 billion credentials shared on criminal forums, paste sites, file sharing services, and code sharing websites.
In terms of prices, the average cost of a single account sold on cybercrime marketplaces was $15.43.
Unsurprisingly, the most expensive are banking and financial services accounts, with an average price of nearly $71, but Digital Shadows researchers have also seen accounts sold for over $500. Antivirus accounts cost just over $20, while other types of accounts typically cost less than $10. This includes cable, social media, VPN, streaming, adult, education, music, file sharing, and video game accounts.
Digital Shadows has pointed out that account takeover attacks are easy to conduct, as well as cheap, with specialized tools being sold for an average of only $4. Marketplaces such as Genesis Market also allow cybercriminals to rent account access as an alternative to purchasing credentials.