7 things you can hire a hacker to do and how much it will (generally) cost

hackers

A hacker can do everything from hijacking a corporate email account to draining millions of dollars from an online bank account.
Though many hackers may have malicious intent, some wear white hats and help companies find security holes and protect sensitive content.
Below we explore some of many jobs a hacker can do for you.

Some parts of the web are the online equivalent of dark alleys where shady characters lurk in the shadows.

Afraid your girlfriend is cheating on you? There's a hacker on the dark web who can get you into her email and social media accounts; that is, if you don't mind sliding past legal or ethical boundaries.

These days you don't have to delve too deeply into the recesses of the dark web to find hackers — they're actually quite easy to find.

For instance, you can easily hire an ethical hacker on Fiverr for as little as $5. These so-called "white hats" help protect your website from malicious attacks by identifying security holes and plugging them.

Other hacking sites openly advertise services of questionable legality, offering illicit access to everything from Skype and Gmail to your college grades. InsideHackers' warns in its Terms of Service that hacking is a "dangerous industry" and "very, very risky business."

In a 2016 report, Dell's SecureWorks found that the underground marketplace is "booming" because hackers are "extending their hours, guaranteeing their work, and expanding their offerings" to lure in customers.

Whether you're in need of a hacker or just curious about the industry, here are seven hacks for sale right now and what they may cost, according to the SecureWorks report and other advertisements on the web.

Note: Prices are listed in US dollars, but some hackers prefer to be paid in Bitcoin.

1. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack: $5 - $25 per hour

Kaspersky Labs reports that the average price for a DDoS attack is $25 per hour.

According to Kaspersky, you can pay just $5 for a five-minute attack and $400 to overwhelm a server, blocking legitimate users, for a whole day. The SecureWorks report quotes a slightly lower price of $5 an hour or $30 per day.

2. Online bank heist: $40 and up

According to the SecureWorks report, you'll pay a hacker 1% to 5% of the money you drain from an online bank account in return for their getting you into it.

To hack a US-based account and steal $1,000, for example, you would have to pay a hacker around $40, and accounts with smaller balances actually result in higher fees, according to the report.

3. Rewards points transfer: $10 to $450

To siphon loyalty program credits from someone's account, the price depends on the number of points in the account.

The SecureWorks report lists hacks for hotel rewards points starting at $10 for 50,000 points, up to $200 for 1,000,000 miles.

Frequent flyer miles on US airlines start at $60 for 200,000 miles. $450 will buy you 1,500,000 miles and, most likely, a trip around the world (perhaps to a country without an extradition treaty).

See the rest of the story at Business Insider