Security News > 2023 > January > The wages of sin aren't that great if you're a developer choosing the dark side

Malware developers and penetration testers are in high demand across dark web job posting sites, with a few astonishing - but mostly average - wages.

The report found that many ads mirror the style of legitimate IT job postings but with a couple big exceptions: all the work is remote by default, and - for obvious reasons - there are no formal employment contracts for these illegal gigs.

So if you were to get a job as a ransomware developer, don't be too surprised if your employer stiffs you after you've helped extort millions of dollars from a hospital or public school district.

Despite the common expectation that miscreants can make a lot more money using their hacking skills for evil, rather than good, Kaspersky noted that "We did not detect a significant difference between the median levels of IT professionals' compensation in the cybercriminal ecosystem and the legitimate job market."

Similar to legitimate, legal-IT professional hiring processes: dark-web job listings often mention paid test assignments, interviews, and probation periods, as well as incentives such as paid vacation and sick days, pay raises and opportunities for growth, and flexible hours.

Some ads even touted more nebulous job benefits such as a close-knit team and exciting challenges.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/01/30/dark_web_it_employment_kaspersky/