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The Hacking Community and Cyber Black Markets Are Growing and Maturing

• The cyber black market has evolved from a varied landscape of discrete, ad hoc individuals into a network of highly organized groups, often connected with traditional crime groups (e.g., drug cartels, mafias, terrorist cells) and nation-states.
• The cyber black market does not differ much from a traditional market or other typical criminal enterprises; participants communicate through various channels, place their orders, and get products.
• Its evolution mirrors the normal evolution of markets with both innovation and growth.
• For many, the cyber black market can be more profitable than the illegal drug trade.

These Cyber Black Markets Respond to Outside Forces

• As suspicion and "paranoia" spike because of an increase in recent takedowns, more transactions move to darknets; stronger vetting takes place; and greater encryption, obfuscation, and anonymization techniques are employed, restricting access to the most sophisticated parts of the black market.
• The proliferation of as-a-service and point-and-click interfaces lowers the cost to enter the market.
• Law enforcement efforts are improving as more individuals are technologically savvy; suspects are going after bigger targets, and thus are attracting more attention; and more crimes involve a digital component, giving law enforcement more opportunities to encounter crime in cyberspace.
• Still, the cyber black market remains resilient and is growing at an accelerated pace, continually getting more creative and innovative as defenses get stronger, law enforcement gets more sophisticated, and new exploitable technologies and connections appear in the world.
• Products can be highly customized, and players tend to be extremely specialized.