It only takes $200 to get into the malware business

So, you have an extra $200 laying around. Do you go grocery shopping? Do you buy yourself an entry-level Android tablet? Perhaps you scour the online black market and invest in the Neutrino Bot malware kit. That way you can make your money back and then some…albeit illegally.

These days cybercriminals don’t even need coding skills. There are point-and-click malware kits available for a nominal price that enable even tech novices to get into the malware crime business.

I wrote about the Trustwave infographic on my Minimal Risk blog at CSOOnline:

It’s fairly common when discussing the cost of things to compare it to other items people commonly buy. Commercials for charities often state that donating costs less than a cup of coffee per day, and many tech articles cite cost in terms of a visit to Starbucks (apparently coffee is a useful theme for comparison). A new infographic from Trustwave illustrates how much bad guys are paying for malware kits compared to ordinary things you might spend money on.

The sad fact is that you don’t have to be a coding genius to be a cybercriminal. You don’t have to know how to discover vulnerabilities, or craft custom exploits. Shady characters can simply shop for a malware kit that makes executing a malware attack about as simple as operating a microwave oven.

There is an underground black market for these sorts of malware kits. Trustwave researchers did some digging to find out how much it costs to acquire certain well-known malware kits, and they were shocked to find out just how cheap it can be to get into the cybercrime business.

You can read the full article here: For less than the cost of a week’s groceries, you too can be a cybercriminal.