Cybercrime is increasing very rapidly, not only at a lower level but at official levels also. No one is safe these days, including government officials, students, banks, financial departments, etc.
Cybercrime groups are very active and use the latest technology to collect all the details efficiently. They are increasingly running their operations as a business.
Now the group has started promoting jobs on the dark web that offer developers and hackers a great monthly package, paid sick leaves, and paid time off.
According to the analysis presented by Kaspersky news, nearly 200,000 job ads posted on 155 dark websites. Between March 2020 and June 2022.
Moreover, APT and hacking groups are searching to hire mainly software developers and offer market-competitive salary packages to entice them.
According to the analysis, the highest paying job available at job posting is $20,000. While ads for capable attack specialists topped at $15,000/month.
Besides, hacking groups are also searching for data analysts, malware and tool developers, initial compromise actors, website and phishing email designers, reverse engineers, IT administrators, and malware testers.
The expected salary for IT professionals ranged between $1,300 and $4,000/month. Whereas the designers earn the lowest wages and reverse engineers earn the highest.
Moreover, it has also been came into notice that 1/3 of the job postings are for full-time employment, and an equal percentage allows flexible timings. In addition, it has also came into notice that remote workers are on paid vacations and sick leaves. This shows that dark web employees care about their employees and try to provide their best to retain them.
Hence, these packages are attractive and competitive compared to similar positions in legal job markets. This strategy will help to attract unemployed IT professionals who are still looking for a job.
“It is worth noting that the risks associated with working for a dark web employer still outweigh the benefits,” warns Kaspersky.
“The absence of the legally executed employment contract relieves employees of any responsibility. A worker could be left unpaid, framed, or involved in a fraudulent scheme”.
As per the research, the highest percentage of ads was posted during Q1 2020. Which coincides with the massive changes brought upon the workforce by COVID-19. At the same time, a second spike was recorded between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.
A Unique Hiring Procedure
The hiring criteria are based on a test through which the recruiters will determine a candidate’s competency level in the claimed field.
In some cases, recruiters also look into the candidate’s CV and conduct an interview session with the job seeker.
In typical instances discovered by Kaspersky, one job posting guaranteed to pay applicants about $300 in BTC for a test assignment.
Another job posting was seen by the analysts, where the candidate is supposed to encrypt a test DLL in 24 hours, making it fully undetectable by AVs.
Additionally, cybercrime enterprises adopt business-like operations, and the dark web presents itself as a recruiting tool for threat actors seeking a stable income. In these challenging times, IT professionals find these jobs as lifelines during these crucial times.
We can easily witness that at this dark time when people are facing political unrest, poor economies, or a lack of job opportunities in their region, the jobless people find these jobs as a blessing for them.
It is essential to understand the risks associated with working for a dark web employer as it involves different activities, such as scam to getting framed, arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned.
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