In the criminal underworld of the internet, where nerds are paid upwards of £16,000 a month to become hackers

HAVE you ever wondered how the criminal underworld keeps itself well manned?

Well, it turns out that gangs are targeting tech specialists on the dark web.

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The dark web is a collective term for a variety of websites, often containing a marketplace where people engage in or solicit shady activities.

According to research by Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky, a number of semi-legal and illegal jobs are advertised on the dark web, but there are also advertisements with some legitimate job vacancies.

“The main employers on the Dark Web are hacker teams and APT groups looking for people capable of developing and distributing malware code, building and maintaining IT infrastructure, and so on,” the said Company.

After analyzing job ads and resumes posted on 155 dark web forums from January 2020 to June 2022, the company found that the financial reward for organized cybercrime can be quite high.

For the most in-demand jobs – developers – these “criminal nerds” can rake in as much as $20,000 (£16,000) a month for their shady dealings.

Most of the job ads checked by Kaspersky were looking for developers — people who can create malware, for example.

The second most in-demand role is the “attacker,” also known as a pentester, or someone who can be paid to break into or hack into certain systems.

The median salaries offered to IT professionals for dark web roles range from $1,300 to $4,000.

Many payments are also offered via cryptocurrencies.

Layoffs in the tech sector may result in people turning to the dark web for work, Kaspersky said.

While many are drawn to the lure of the internet’s criminal underbelly, salaries are often the same as what you can legally earn.

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