COMP NEWS – Malware developers are in high demand across the darker corners of the internet. But the wages of sin, and illegality, aren’t all that profitable, according to a two-year analysis that showed malware developer jobs are usually poorly compensated.

Malware developers and penetration testers are in high demand across dark web job posting sites, with a few astonishing – but mostly average – wages.

This, according to a two-year analysis by Russian security house Kaspersky of 227,000 job listings on 155 forums collected between 2020 and 2022. The report found that many ads mirror the style of legitimate IT job postings but with a couple big exceptions: all the work is remote by default, and – for obvious reasons – there are no formal employment contracts for these illegal gigs.

So if you were to get a job as a ransomware developer, don’t be too surprised if your employer stiffs you after you’ve helped extort millions of dollars from a hospital or public school district. In addition to possibly not getting paid, there are other risks associated with cybercrime jobs such as prosecution and imprisonment, which are hardly perks. 

The “dark web” – the roughly 90% of the internet that is not indexed by most major search engines – is home to a gamut of dubious markets and forums, often revolving around illicit activities. Developers sought on dark web markets are paid low wages compared to job roles posted on public sources, according to the study.

Developers were the most sought-after candidates on dark web forums and accounted for 61 percent of total ads. “This could suggest that the complexity of cyberattacks is growing,” according to the analysis. “The higher demand for developers could be explained by a need to create and configure new, more complex tools.”

For comparison: attackers/penetration testers came in second with 16 percent and designers ranked third with 10 percent.

The compensation for these jobs also reflected the in-demand coding capabilities. The highest paid monthly salary that Kaspersky saw in the ads was $20,000 per month, paid to a developer. The median monthly salary for developers, however, came in at $2,000 per month, compared to attackers ($2,500), reverse engineers ($4,000), analysts ($1,750), IT admins and testers ($1,500) and designers ($1,300).

The study also found that applications for dark-web jobs surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And similar to legitimate, legal-IT professional hiring processes: dark-web job listings often mention paid test assignments, interviews, and probation periods, as well as incentives such as paid vacation and sick days, pay raises and opportunities for growth, and flexible hours. Some ads even touted more nebulous job benefits such as a close-knit team (8 percent of ads) and exciting challenges (7 percent).

The research also seems to suggest that the adage about desperate times holds true. “Many turn to the shadow market for extra income in a crisis,” the report said, noting that the number of resumes posted on dark-web forums surged at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

This is worrisome given the recent tech layoffs and economic downturn of late. Here’s hoping that this line stands out to any newly out-of-a-job IT professionals weighing their options: “The risks associated with working for a dark web employer still outweigh the benefits.”

To read more about the study on malware developer wages, click here.

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