Cybercrime may pay, but providing the tools for the criminals to operate in this netherworld have become so flooded with entrants that the prices for renting malicious software have dropped. Researchers who follow online criminal activity say the undergound marketplace for networks of hacked computers or botnets has become very crowded, and that renting a botnet to launch attacks is becoming cheaper by the day, reports CSOonline.com

"The barriers to entry in that marketplace are so low you have people basically flooding the market," said Jose Nazario, a security researcher with Arbor Networks. "The way you differentiate yourself is on price."

Criminals can invade and hack into computers and link them together into so-called botnet networks, which can then be centrally controlled. Botnets are used to send spam, steal passwords, and sometimes to launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which flood victims' servers with unwanted information.

While some cyberthieves have the capability to create their own malicious software, others rent this software from third parties. Attacks have been on the upswing, but Nazario told CSOonline.com that market forces and the bad economy have had an impact on those providing the technical means for the criminal element.

Nazario says he has seen DDoS attacks offered in the $100 a day range, but according to SecureWorks Security Researcher Kevin Stevens, prices have dropped to $30 to $50 on some Russian forums. Stevens also said the cost of stolen credit card numbers and other kinds of identity information has dropped as well.

For more on the dropping price of cybercrime:
- see this CSOonline.com article

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