A hacker’s services are heavily rewarded on the Dark Web, where stolen identities, credit cards, and passports are all in high demand.
Trend Lab published the paper, "Below the Surface: Exploring the Deep Web," to discusses how Hackers are utilizing the Deep Web for their economic benefit. Purchasing Credit card and bank account numbers allows the buyers to assume a new identity, and make their transactions harder to trace back to their actual identity. Buyers are willing to pay large amounts for stolen accounts, creating a great incentive for hackers. The same goes for passports, since they allow the buyer to easily cross the border without raising flags with their true identity. The Dark Web provides the necessary anonymity for conducting these illegal purchases.
Hackers also use the Deep Web to leak personal details pertaining to people in high positions, creating a target.
No one is off limits. Politicians, celebrities, and even law enforcement (ex: FBI agents) commonly have information leaked about them. Highly private information, such as social security numbers and phone numbers may be posted on the deep web. Hackers may be hired to find this information, or they could be doing it to specifically attack an unliked public figure. The targets have their computers, phones, and online accounts infiltrated by hackers, so that their identities may be jeopardized. Hackers often create webpages to compile and spread the personal information.
Misha Glenny's Ted Talk, "Hire the Hacker," discusses the harmful effects of hacking, such as stealing private information, and how their knowledge can be used to have beneficial effects on the web.