![\"Cybercriminal](\"https:\/\/blog.trendmicro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/img-cover-300x200.jpg\")
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The cybercrime economy is one of the runaway success stories of the 21st<\/sup> century \u2014 at least, for those who participate in it. Estimates claim it could be worth over $1 trillion annually, more than the GDP of many countries. Part of that success is due to its ability to evolve and shift as the threat landscape changes. Trend Micro has been profiling the underground cybercrime community for many years. Over the past five years, we\u2019ve seen a major shift to new platforms, communications channels, products and services, as trust on the dark web erodes and new market demands emerge.<\/p>\n We also expect the current pandemic to create yet another evolution, as cyber-criminals look to take advantage of new ways of working and systemic vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n Shifts in the underground<\/strong><\/p>\n Our latest report, Shifts in the Cybercriminal Underground Markets<\/em>, charts the fascinating progress of cybercrime over the past five years, through detailed analysis of forums, marketplaces and dark web sites around the world. It notes that in many product areas, the cost of items has dropped as they become commoditised: so where in 2015 you expected to pay $1000 per months for crypting services, today they may be as little as $20.<\/p>\n In other areas, such as IoT botnets, cyber-propaganda and stolen gaming account credentials, prices are high as new products spark surging demand. Fortnite logins can sell for around $1,000 on average, for example.<\/p>\n The good news is that law enforcement action appears to be working. Trend Micro has long partnered with Interpol, Europol, national crime agencies and local police to provide assistance in investigations. So it\u2019s good to see that these efforts are having an impact. Many dark web forums and marketplaces have been infiltrated and taken down over the past five years, and our researchers note that current users complain of DDoS-ing and log-in issues.<\/p>\n Cybercriminals have been forced to take extreme measures as trust erodes among the community, for example, by using gaming communications service Discord to arrange trades, and e-commerce platform Shoppy.gg to sell items. A new site called DarkNet Trust was even created to tackle this specific challenge: it aims to verify cybercrime vendors\u2019 reputations by analysing their usernames and PGP fingerprints.<\/p>\n What does the future hold?<\/strong><\/p>\n However, things rarely stay still on the cybercrime underground. Going forward, we expect to see a range of new tools and techniques flood dark web stores and forums. AI will be at the centre of these efforts. Just as it\u2019s being used by Trend Micro and other companies to root out fraud, sophisticated malware and phishing, it could be deployed in bots designed to predict roll patterns on gambling sites. It could also be used in deepfake services developed to help buyers bypass photo ID systems, or launch sextortion campaigns against individuals.<\/p>\n Some emerging trends are less hi-tech but no less damaging. Log-ins for wearable devices could be stolen and used to request replacements under warranty, defrauding the customer and costing the manufacturers dear. In fact, access to devices, systems and accounts is so common today that we\u2019re already seeing it spun out in \u201cas-a-service\u201d cybercrime offerings. Prices for access to Fortune 500 companies can hit as much as $10,000.<\/p>\n