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ALL IT TAKES to make over $900,000 (€830,000) a year is to learn some code, pick up some Russian, decide to become a criminal, and have no fear. That’s it. Put it all together, take a deep breath, and then even you can become a novice cybercriminal.
That’s what Ziv Mador, VP of security from information-security company Trustwave, showed me. He gave me an exclusive look into his research about the criminal underbelly of the internet. And it turns out hackers stand to rake in quite a bit of money if they know how to operate and where to turn.
In fact, according to his conservative estimates, even the most rudimentary of hackers stand to make as much as $80,000 (€74,000) a month.
Doing so isn’t so hard. The world of hacking and selling exploits is replete with people looking to hawk their coded goods. But let’s not focus on what one must do to enter this world; it’s really the numbers that speak for themselves.
Mador explained that the ecosystem of hacking consists of renting access to already-made exploits. These offerings are available on Craigslist-like sites, but for hacker eyes only.
The security expert said that most people using these sites are Russian or Eastern European (or at least speak the language). He added that it takes a lot to get into these hidden networks; they “require some trust with other cybercriminals to get in.”
But once someone is in the club, a novice hacker could find numerous malicious services at his or her fingertips.
For example, a hacker hoping to inject malicious links into a website would have to both figure out a way to gain access to a popular website to put in the bad links, and then would have to lease access to an exploit to deliver to victims. Then he or she would also like to ensure that the malware isn’t detectable. All of these services are available, ready-made, online, and for a price.
Hacking works much like businesses do: In order to start out you have to have supplies and a place to operate. This costs money. Trustwave crunched the numbers for how much a hacker would likely spend on his or her hacking supplies. Putting it all together it came to about $5,900 (€5,400).
Here’s Trustwave’s rundown of the cost:
But don’t worry, there’s a payoff. Using very conservative estimates, Mador and his team tried to figure out how many successful victims a hacker could get a month. If they put the exploit on a pretty well trafficked page, it could see as many as 20,000 users a day. Only 10% of those victims will be successfully exploited, he believes.
And of those 10%, if the exploit is a ransomware — which takes victims’ files hostage until a bounty is paid — only 0.5% of those will actually pay up.
That comes to a “daily income of $3,000 (€2,800),” said Mador.
When you subtract the monthly cost, that comes to $84,000 (€77,000) a month:
Mador added, “these [estimates] are all very conservative.” But they are all based on the transactions that Trustwave saw firsthand.
The long and the short of it is that Mador and his team witnessed hackers and hacker gangs rake in money by pulling off not too difficult online schemes.
What really makes them effective is that hacking has become a well-oiled machine. It’s no longer every man for himself. Instead, it’s some coders offering their expertise (for a price of course). And when you put all the parts together you get a truly complex ecosystem that rivals century-old industries.
If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of the hacking business, you can see more of the presentation here.
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Well Done Ivan, you did the other 31 Counties Proud
@Fergal Pigat: how by leaving the country not paying his debts of millions of euro
@Garreth Mc Mahon: he went bankrupt, like thousands of other businesses. It’s a normal part of any economy.
@Garreth Mc Mahon: He went bankrupt, its not that unusual.
@James Wallace: not when he left Ireland to be absolved of his debt in another country by claimong residency there.
@Doubtchya Boy!:
You do know that Ireland now has the same bankruptcy rules?
@Fergal Pigat: *25
@Fergal Pigat: The Irish love a flogging a pity people can’t put aside their political allegiances and nail Harris for in ineptitude in Health plus his buddy Varadkar- costing taxpayers far more than FAI were bailout by
Typical D4 witch hunt and the D4 intelligence hoarders rain supreme but not problem begging for tickets and in most cases not paying for them
@Patrick Nolan: not at the time. Him and Shane Dolan went around the same time to the uk also I thought it was two years here where originally it was twelve years
@Garreth Mc Mahon: sorry that should be Shane Filan
@Garreth Mc Mahon: he was bankrupt…..
@Garreth Mc Mahon: Denis o brien pays Yates wages. Makes you wonder.
@James Wallace: He went bankrupt despite €1000 a week state pension, which started in his forties.
@Fergal Pigat: Yates is just jealous, a state funded failed Gombeen.
@Garreth Mc Mahon: Different subject, keep the eye on the ball here, Ivan is asking the King of embarrassment politicians legitimate questions, but if you want to discuss Ivan, read his book, Full On, and get the context on Ivan’s background etc. the banks put him through Hell and Back and after many years of trying, he had no other choice but to leave. Normal Practice !
@Bungee Aky: What you Say
@Martin Brennan: Different Subject !!! Health Department takes more than Harris to get right, perhaps the 100,000 that work in that area could work out something instead of just their Salaries and Benefits !
@Jointheclubtoo: Play the Ball not the Player !
@Garreth Mc Mahon: christ you’re some omlette
@Martin Brennan: Don’t vote them
Back in then Martin !!! But the problem with the FAI unlike the Government they are accountable only to themselves!
@Fergal Pigat:
” read his book, Full On,”
So I should read his book ::the one he wrote:: and that will put us straight :: the book HE wrote ???
@Garreth Mc Mahon: the first turf account to ever go bankrupt ha
@Fergal Pigat: Ah yes Ivan will explain it all. Ivan could make an effort to repay the debts we are paying on his behalf. Much more practical that writing a book on how his abject greed destroyed him much like his betting shops destroyed so many families.
I would praise Yates for this but unfortunately it just further encourages Healy Rea’s electorate who have, over the years displayed zero understanding of the concept of the greater good.
@John O’Leary: Lol! The greater good – like that’s the motivation of any part of the electorate anywhere. I’m sure the voters of whatever Shangri-la you reside in vote for their local TD on the basis of the impact he or she will have on the world, and not on what is best for themselves.
@John O’Leary: and his stunt yesterday will help his son’s local election campaign in Castleisland electoral area
@Yermanuptheroad: Alas, “The Greater Good” usually means Dublin 4
Subject:
Nah that argument doesn’t stand up anymore. In fact you haven’t even made an argument. The FAI are in desperate need of an over haul and this guy hung around all day just to have a dig at the whole process and all to get a giggle from his electorate. The whole act by the two of them now is getting tiresome. This guy openly denys logic, reason and scientific evidence to the detriment of every body else and his voters down there love it purley because he’s a “thorn in the side” of the envirmental movement or because he bucks the latest trend. It’s getting pathetic now and it’s time the electorate took some responsibility.
@Yermanuptheroad: response above is to your comment sir/madam.
@John O’Leary: I’m afraid my dear man you are well wide of the mark with regard to the Healy Rea’s and your reasoning into why they get elected with a landslide majority every time.
They get in because they do a mountain of work for people in their electoral area and that is a fact.
Yes they have a habit of putting their foot in their mouth from time to time and yesterday was another prime example of that.
I am in total agreement with you about the needed overhaul within the FAI but don’t be acting the pap like Shane Ross…..
@Yermanuptheroad: The problem is politicians help and representation has to be invoked in many cases because going on your own to Government departments for supports as in our case for a child with learning difficulties is a waist of time.
Healy Rae gets the work done others just talk about it.
It’s hard to listen to Yates and co they are at every shin dig in the country free gratis in many cases and we go to every league match and local game and when it comes to All Ireland finals we have to stay in our sitting rooms
He could at least take his hat off.
@Marv: __ It’s like Joe Dirt’s mullet, stapled to his head.
@Marv: It’s a ‘Cap’.!! A ‘Capeen’ !! In his ‘Kingdom’.!!
@Marv: he cant. Thats what gombeen’s wear. What he did yesterday was stupid stuff. He was there to ask questio ns and not to heap praise on some on someone who refused to answer questions.
@Dave Barrett: and he sat there for the entire day to talk sh 1te at the end. The entire day! Not one question. He wanted to sit there and have a gawk and then talk about his locality and how great it is that Delaney is making an appearance. Appearances don’t mean sh 1te when your club never got the funding to get up and running in the first place. 47 yrs ppl in that town wanted to set up a club according to him. How’s that something to be proud of. Delaney loves grassroots my hole!
@Bruce van der Gutschmitzer: he’s someone who doesn’t sit on the committee either. How’s he stealing a wage too?! Gangsters recognise gansters.
@Marv: manky cap , trying to pretend he is not bald!
@Marv: bald as an egg I’ll warrant and like Brett Michaels of Poison ,vanity will assure its glued to his head 24 hrs a day .
The Healy Reas are a dynasty who milk the political system. He is the biggest property owner in leinster House. They
own contractor businesses supplying the local council and Irish Water plus pubs, supermarkets filling stations and employ family members on the State payroll. Excellent at whinging about them up in Dublin and playing the gombeen while the family assets worth millions.
But they are not fools but extremely shrewd operators acting the Beverly Hillbilly we is just folks persona.
No wonder he backs Delaney. Takes one to know one!
@David Glynn: Best comment here and Yeats is another one of them. The cute hoor blaming all the ills on one group of people and getting support for it from people with chips on their shoulders.
@David Glynn: just because a fool knows how to play the system, doesn’t stop them from being a fool.
Healy-Rae represents all that was bad about Ireland in the past! Pure Parish pump politics!
HR should stick to be a local committee chair or something
@Dotty Dunleary: he represents the people of Kerry and he gets things done for people if needed. That can’t be said for many more tds..
@SidNolan: ‘Twould take one to know one!
@John Mc Donagh: Good one John. Sixth class level banter.
@SidNolan: I am not a fan of Healy-Rae, but to insult the entire people of a county, because you don’t like the TD they elect is also a little childish.
Do you think the people of Kerry are going to vote for someone who doesn’t do anything for them?
@SidNolan: Please don’t tar all of the people of Kerry with the one brush. I would agree 100% that the people who voted, and continue to vote, for him and his lunatic brother are idiots but not everybody in Kerry votes for them. They represent the worst kind of gombeen man, parish pump politics and go around crashing funerals and such like in order to win votes. I can’t stand that whole family and how they operate.
@CrabaRev: he has a point. there is really, really, obvious attempts to solicit corruption of Delaney and his cronies stymie the progress of the fai. On top of supporting erstwhile toxic policies like diversion of funds from national programs, drink driving and maintaining a hegemony of council funds, the people of Kerry vote for this policy. it is not snobbery or jealousy, it is embarrassment and rage that fellow Irishmen are taking in by this. the electorate there are either ignorant of complicit, not of which make the previous point valid.
@John O Brien: haha will ya go away. Just because that family have Kerry fooled doesn’t mean the rest of the country are going to fall for their nonsense. Theyre the closest thing to an Irish mafia u can get. For decades they have used their position to benefit their personal businesses and line their pockets. And the people of Kerry are facilitating it in exchange for a couple of bypasses and less potholes.
@Dotty Dunleary: things haven’t changed in Irish politics at all. Parish pump politics is what gets a TD elected regardless of what others think of him. Michael Lowrey and Bertie Ahern are other fine examples of knowing how the system works.
@John O Brien: and ML of tipp. Screw the dublin meejia.
@SidNolan: And Siddy boy what golden County are you from that gives you such a lofty platform to voice you’re clueless opinions…
@Dotty Dunleary: Sadly this will ensure he tops the poll in next election. I have some respect for him as a hard working man, which i know he is, but his brother is a total embarrassment to Kerry.
Delighted he called healy rae on it but it is how most politicians operate to get stuff for their areas which is shameful enough that they have to drop to these levels
If it was rodadentrums or deer he’d had plenty to say, not to mention drink driving law
Television gold, happened to stumble across it live. Healey Rae is a complete gombeen, everyone on the panel had a cut off him & rightly so. The only exception was one of Delaneys self confessed mates involved in soccer in kerry.
HR wasn’t even on the committee FFS, but still came begging cap in hand with his fake platitudes. The cap on his heads gotta be surgically attached.
I do not share Michael Healy Rea’s views on John Delaney, but on Ivan Yates he is spot on. A boorish bully who ran away from his debts while retaining a generous Dáil pension and feels free to criticise and insult guests on his show is a thundering disgrace. It is possible to ask questions in a civilised manner and to disagree without being an overgrown schoolboy bully.
@Marg FitzGerald: Healy-Rae needed dressing down by someone. He’s a con artist that needs to be called out. He thought his time and the time of his electorate was well spent by sitting there all day to say the the sum total of nothing at the end. To fawn over John Delaney is like telling jabadahut that he looks lovely in that dress.
@Bruce van der Gutschmitzer: Fair enough ,but none of that justifies Yates’ ignorant arrogance , if he can’t ask a question or make a point in a civilised manner he is in the wrong job.
@Marg FitzGerald: indeed he launched at him head first. Could have composed himself a bit better as host. But I’d have lost it with him too. Just wanted his face on TV. Make a few headlines. He thinks it great that a football club finally opens down the road from him after they’ve wanted to for 47yrs according to him. Every small village and town in Ireland should have a football team. And Delaney has nothing to do with getting it up and going. That’s the locals initiative. All he does is cut the tape.
@Bruce van der Gutschmitzer: If he needs dressing down it doesn’t come so well from a failed Gombeen like Yates.
@Marg FitzGerald: just like his predecessor george hook !
@Marg FitzGerald: Play the Ball not the Player – “..I did not share MHR views…” what are you like! John Delaney needs to go and their is no excuse from his dubious governing of the FAI
@Marg FitzGerald: civility and impoliteness are Societal formalities used as tools to deny real agency.
Healed-Rea. a gombeen man surely not!!!
@Thomas Devlin: “oil give you me ceap john if youuuu give may another pitch ,simples. A strong support will defineetly falla”
Selfish parish pump politician.
What ever about Healy-Rea. Yates is some man to preach, fecked off to Wales for a bankruptesy holiday and saddled us taxpayers with millions of his debt.
@Doubtchya Boy!: I don’t like Yates either but that has nothing to do with what’s going on here. This whataboutry is the reason nothing ever changes in this country.
@SidNolan: i dont like either of them. Thats the problem with this country. You’ve one sciving b* sterd calling another this that and the other.
S-N-A-K-E-S them Healy Rae’s
Delaney out
Delaney is a weasel who never served soccer in Ireland well he looked after himself and others like him while grassroots soccer suffered , he went around the country last year handing out money like Santa Claus trying to drum up support for himself
Cork schoolboys league stood up to him a number of years ago and schoolboy teams suffered in cork all bar one team from cork withdrew from the national cup over his carry on and there was nothing about it , I’m glad that the country finally see what he’s like I have zero respect for that man about time that he was found out
@Finbarr Whelan: A football person like yourself, look what he did to Shelbourne FC. Tried to bury them. DDSL got hammered as well. it is a dictatorship and all the promises about the Genesis report he made and none of it happened.
How do I know, easy I read it. The journo who got it was a friend of mine.
MHR was right he is loved in places he bought their votes with grants and seats on councils etc.
I’ve no time for Yates but he was dead right here. MHR is a disgrace and a national embarrassment.
All the Healy Rae’s are snakes
Delaney out
Yates is an ex TD with his government pensions who when he was declared bankrupt went to live in Wales and he has the cheek to criticize others. Say what ye like about the HealyRaes but they’ll fight on their backs for their constituents and are very clever politicians. Look at last night and what their voters see ……… there’s our man fighting tooth and nail for us and the bullies up there in Dublin media are constantly having a go at him. It’s like a football team creating a siege mentality……. them up there and us poor divils in Kerry (I’m not Kerry by the way )
@Eamonn O Connell: They want to legalise drink driving because they own a pub. Just because kerry people are stupid enough to buy their BS doesn’t make them any less of conmen.
@Eamonn O Connell: like a lot of others he was screwed by the banks. Neither he or his wife took money out of his bookies business. Treated his employees very well. Unlucky that Govt scuppered sale of his business through a betting tax. Barney Eastwood sold his chain in the North for 350million.
He had to go to Wales because of the stupid bankruptcy laws here.
Read his book to give yourself a better understanding of his predicament.
@David Glynn: Poor Ivan, you are having a laugh, he went for the money and lost. Banks fault. They forced the loans on him did they. His greed showed through the same with them all
@SidNolan: bit of a generalization there sid to say Kerry people are stupid. They vote for people who get stuff done for them and it’s the same the country over Minister Ross got in by saying he’d reopen step aside Garda station. All politics is local you know
@David Glynn: imagine the banks calling in their loans and seizing assets in lieu of same. And the poor bookies who never make a bob from the misery they cause now being taxed. There are plenty of cases deserving sympathy but Mr Yates isn’t one he had loads but wanted more and it failed
Wasn’t Yates on Newstalk a couple weeks ago defending Delaney ?
I have no time for Yates but I tip my hat to him here. Well said Yates
Clown and a hypocrite, you decide which one is which
Must be a few soccer pitch grass cutting contracts in the mix . Strictly business
Snakes them Healy Rae’s
Delaney out
“a few quid for a few goalies’ net in Kerry” PMSL. Mot a fan of Yates, but he’s spot on there
I have little time for Yeats or Healy Rae. Yet, ironically they are both right here: Yeats is a “bully” and Healy Rae was “obsequious” towards a stone-walling Delaney. This incident shows much of what is rotten in both the media and in politics today.
Healy Rae was a disgrace yesterday and the fact that hes not embarrassed by how he went on says it all about him,so because Delaney helped a few smaller clubs out that means it’s ok for him to not answer genuine questions about the money and other things going on at the fai,should be a mass boycott of the fai now
Must say i find it just a bit strange when a group of current and ex politicians are questioning anybody about wasting public money or governance of same, Talk about the kettle calling the pot black, What about the salaries and un vouched expenses paid to politicians, not to mention the obscene pensions been handed out like confetti, and of course the old golden hand shake, at time of retirement, Talk a cartel, and political parties making and breaking all the rules on a regular basis, Not exactly leading by example are they, At end of day John Delaney put money into the association, not take it out, Not to many politicians if any could say the same thing.
Is that the same Healy-Rae thst co-hosted the show a few weeks back?
Good man healy rae- Delaney is man for the little man. Of course the elite don’t like him.
Je suis John
It was great tv. Well done to both of them.Just watch the ratings go up and the votes mount up .Win Win!
Lol
All looked acted out to me…
There’s no time for tea! It’s Michael Healy-Rea!
A gombeen elected by gombeens.
Both were performing, I’d say they were laughing about while having a pint afterwards
Healy Rae showed himself to be a lot more courteous than Yates. The unpopular fact is that Delaney is not accountable to the Dáil committee and was perfectly within his rights to decline to answer questions. Someone should be asking why the committee are wasting their publicly funded time on issues where they have no competence or authority. Delaney correctly cited the Kerins case, which established that Oireachtas committees are not above the law and must stay within their remit.
The Murphy TD on radio this morning was shockingly incompetent. She argued at one point that the FAI, according to her bird-brained slant, is run on public money because people buy tickets and shirts, and therefore answerable to the Dáil. If that’s her grasp of public funding, give me MHR 100 times over.
Don’t always agree with Ivan but he was spot on there !
Yates was bang out of order. I agree with his general opinion on the matter but you don’t invite a person onto the show, then rip into them in that manner.
Yates trying to go one better than Hook
Absolute bunch of inbred rednecks the Healy Raes
Jesus delany gave the FAI 100′ooo to help them out. Whats the big deal. Yates left the country owing millions. Bigger monster altogether
Ivan well done!!!
I HATE soccer BUT FAI needs to be scrapped and start over
Better that than those nasties in the ERG in London. Screwing everybody to make themselves rich from trade deals that will only favour themselves and their pals.
Bang on well said
Good man Ivan, someone needs to shut them idiots up
I think Ivan is a great business man. I am happy to pay the debts that Ivan walked away from. There are lots of failures like Ivan who lecture us in how we should live our personal lives but in reality they cannot manage their own lives.
How much of the FAI money comes from the state ??
@Martin Quinn: 2,900,000 euros p.a
@Quentin Moriarty:
Thanks for that
The two Healy-Rea’s are nearly played out at this stage, people are few up and tired looking at them and listening to them mostly talking rubbish. I believe that they are not taken seriously in the Dail either. But it appears that they have a big following in Kerry. F F and FG need to get a few very high profile candidates down there and oust them.
Rich coming from Ivan. Arrogant idiot. Thinks he is some sort of an expert. Return your big FG pension. Don’t use our state and then escape to England. Bigger picture guys.
Surprised Healy rae hasn’t grown a big red nose by now.big ignorant clown.
have your say