Rent-a-Phish Available on the Darknet

Blogging on a network for security professionals, Susan Morrow notes that cybercriminals, like legitimate businesses, are always looking for better business models, and “now they have hit gold with Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS).” Lack of technical proficiency has been a barrier to entry into cybercrime, and not very many people have the know-how to create their own scam, starting with coding, and proceeding to hosting the landing pages and selling the ill-gained data. Phishing-as-a-Service opens the door for rank amateurs with nothing but larcenous intent to become full-fledged cybercriminals. Kits ranging from single tools to fully orchestrated campaigns are available for rent on the darknet. They are affordable, starting at about $50 for a simple one-off kit download. The security firm Cyren identified 5,334 new and unique phishing products on sale in the first half of 2019. They generally work as a subscription model, similar to online services like streaming TV. The author writes that phishing-as-a-Service targets consumers and organizations of all sizes, across all sectors.