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Can You Guess How Much Your Facebook Account Costs On The Dark Web?

By now, everyone’s heard of the dark web — the dank and perilous section of the internet that’s hosted entirely on darknets (a network only accessible with specific software or authorization).

Your sensitive data is the hottest seller on these dark marketplaces. Accounts, payment data, and documents are just some of the prized commodities on offer.

In this article, we’ll disclose the real-life value of your data on the dark web as per the Dark Web Price Index of 2022 and 2023. Afterward, we’ll uncover 3 golden cybersecurity tips to keep your data safe.

What is your data worth on the dark web?

Social media

2023 saw a decrease in social media-related data like hacked accounts and new followers or likes. Let’s take a look at a few examples:

• Hacked Facebook account: Costing $45 last year, Facebook accounts are selling for only $25 in 2023.
• 1000 Instagram followers: Coming in at $4 in 2022, the cost of Instagram followers has halved to $2 this year.
• 1000 Twitter retweets: This year, the value of Twitter retweets also halved from $20 per 1000 in 2022 to $10 per 1000 retweets in 2023.

Payment processing services

As the online payment ecosystem grows, so does the marketplace for stolen payment processors. Here are just a few examples:

• Verified Cashapp account: Worth $800 in 2022, 2023 saw verified Cashapp accounts valued at $860.
• Verified UK Skrill account: Surprisingly, a verified Skrill account was only $120 last year but leaped to $610 this year.
• Hacked details of a PayPal account: with at least a $1000 balance have halved this year to only $10, meaning cybercriminals can buy your data for as much as 2 cups of coffee from a trendy coffee shop.

Crypto accounts

The cryptocurrency market is perhaps the fastest-evolving industry in this section. Due to the inflow of many new platforms, the price of your crypto accounts has increased massively:

• Verified Binance account: Coming to $260 in 2022, cybercriminals sell the details for $410 in 2023.
• Verified Coinbase account: A hacked and verified Coinbase account is worth at $250 in 2023, compared to last year’s $120.
• Verified Kraken account: Kraken account holders, beware, the value of your wallet has more than quadrupled over a year from $250 to $1170 in 2023.

Cyber attacks

Hackers have seen their prices generally lower over the last year. From DDoS attacks to sophisticated malware, the price tag of cyber-attacks has become cheaper:

• Premium-quality malware per 1000 downloads: Malware that cost $5500 last year dropped to $4500 in 2023.
• Month-long DDoS attack on an unprotected website (10-50k requests per second): Hackers are offering DDoS attacks for $750 in 2023, $100 cheaper than last year.
• Infected Android Operating System (OS) per 1000 downloads: Coming in at $950 in 2022, the price of a malware-infected Android OS has dropped to $600.

Forged documents

Interestingly, the reports have shown wide fluctuation in the value of stolen and forged documents. Driving licenses and passports are the most common being sold:

• European Union National ID: Only $160 in 2022, EU National IDs now go for a handsome $1700.
• Lithuanian passport: Going the other direction, Lithuanian passports sold for $3800 last year but dropped to $1800 in 2023.
• US driver’s license: Across 2022 to 2023, the worth of a US driver’s license has remained at $150.

Hacked services

Pay-as-you-go and subscription-based services have increased in popularity on the dark web this year. Interestingly though, the general price of hacked accounts has reduced:

• Hacked Uber driver account: Scary, right? These only cost $30 compared to $35 in 2022.
• Netflix account with 1-year subscription: Netflix accounts saw the same drop in price from $25 last year to $20 in 2023.
• HBO account: They only sold for $4 a piece in 2022 and they’re even cheaper now at $2.

  3 golden cybersecurity tips to ensure safe and secure private data

1. Ensure your Wi-Fi is secured

The harsh truth is that your internet connection isn’t fully secured without a Virtual Private Network (VPN). They create an encrypted tunnel for your data to pass through. Any hacker who successfully steals your data will find an obscure mess of unreadable data. Don’t waste any more time, and test out a free trial vpn now.

2. Data discovery and removal

To understand the scope of damage a cyberattack can do, you first need to know what data will be targeted. Using data discovery tools like Qlik, you can identify all of your sensitive data assets. Once found, it’s easy to delete any data you don’t need and decide what data needs to be secured.

3. Upgrade your account security

If you got this far, you probably need this wake-up call. Every account you possess is more secure with unguessable passwords, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and password vaults. The general rule is: if you can remember your password, it can’t be that hard to crack.