An experienced hacker has warned us about what to be scared of in the future, based on his three decades of experience on the dark web.
If you haven’t heard of it before, the dark web is essentially where a bulk of criminal activity takes place in this technology-driven modern era.
It can organise or start carrying out some of the most disturbing acts, media or actions ever seen – and can easily leave you scarred for life. So naturally, people all over the world are interested in what it really holds.
The vigilantes of today can sometimes be hackers, but I’m not talking about the ones that try to steal your data and gain access to your money, but the ones that try to prevent the bad people online from getting the better of innocent users.
However, a lot of hackers choose to go down the darker path, as a hacking expert has pointed out, even highlighting some of the scarier things that he has encountered.
Some of these include ‘destructive’ people online that ‘want to see the world burn’, as the hacker says that he is now a ‘white hat’ – a good samaritan that wants to improve the greater good – after years of being a ‘black hat’, the opposite.
He is often asked to find weak spots in security software and revealed that he does ‘things like hunt the criminals who are targeting hospitals or who are targeting businesses’.
But when explaining what he is most worried about in the future in a YouTube video with VICE, he replied: “I don’t think we have to worry too much about our nuclear arsenal being taken over movie style and used against us.
“But I do think we have to worry about major impacts to financial markets or potential impacts to things like electricity production facilities,” he highlighted.
In the clip, he also spoke about malicious software that can be used to block someone’s access to a computer, explaining ransomware: “It is an attack technique that’s been around for decades.
“Modern ransomware is usually a piece of malware that gets on your system, encrypts all of your data and then holds that hostage demanding that you contact the gangs that are operating it, paying them in some form of currency before they’ll give you the key that decrypts your data.”
Speaking about some ethical dilemmas that he’s faced in his job, he recalled: “I’ve watched hospitals get encrypted and people are left with a choice: do I pay to decrypt the data or do I risk lives?”
“Back when it started, ransomware was charging hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands of dollars for individual targets,” he said, comparing his present to the past.
“The bigger payouts that we’re talking about now are easily into the tens of millions. This last, most recent attack, they offered $70 million dollars for the campaign key, which is the key that would have unlocked every single computer encrypted during that attack. So we’re talking high-stakes games here,” the hacker claimed.
Most of us steer well clear of the dark web, but one bloke who has been a hacker for three decades has divulged some of the harrowing stuff he’s come across on the job.
Essentially, the dark web is the underbelly of criminal activity and it can play host to gruesome and depraved acts which can scar even the most hardened person.
Obviously, people who are looking in on it are either curious about what’s going on in the dark side, or they’re part of it.
Or they’re there to hack.
Hackers tend to look for networks or data storages of interest, which could give them things to use and sell, or use to gain access to money.
It’s not honest work, but it’s the path that some have chosen for themselves.
But what is it like to be a hacker on the dark web?
Well, a hacker with over 30 years of experience deep diving in on data and software has revealed the scariest things he has ever come across, and it’s not for the weak.
He started off by recalling some ‘destructive attackers’ who ‘want to see the world burn’ – so you can already get the gist of what sort of content is on there.
The anonymous man explained he once considered himself a ‘black hat’ of the web, meaning he wasn’t bound by any kind of ethical code.
But now, he has changed his headwear and dubs himself a ‘white hat’ – a group of internet Good Samaritans who claim to work to improve the greater good, are bound by the law and are often tasked to find weak spots in security software.
The bloke explained that his new role involves searching for vulnerabilities in systems that could pose a ‘significant risk’.
The hacker told VICE in 2021: “I also do things like hunt the criminals who are targeting hospitals or who are targeting the businesses that I’m looking out for.”
Speaking about ransomware – a malicious software designed to block someone’s access to a computer system – the mystery man said: “It is an attack technique that’s been around for decades.
“Modern ransomware is usually a piece of malware that gets on your system, encrypts all of your data and then holds that hostage demanding that you contact the gangs that are operating it, paying them in some form of currency before they’ll give you the key that decrypts your data.”
Just like the rest of us, there are some times when his job gets really tough – except this fella has got a lot more at stake due to the fact he’s dealing with the dark web.
Speaking about some of the things he’s witnessed, he continued: “I’ve watched hospitals get encrypted and people are left with a choice: do I pay to decrypt the data or do I risk lives?”
He went on to explain how hacking has changed over the years: “Back when it started ransomware was charging hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands of dollars for individual targets.
“The bigger payouts that we’re talking about now are easily into the tens of millions. This last, most recent attack, they offered $70 million dollars for the campaign key, which is the key that would have unlocked every single computer encrypted during that attack. So we’re talking high-stakes games here.”
Speaking about what the future will hold, he said: “I don’t think we have to worry too much about our nuclear arsenal being taken over movie style and used against us. But I do think we have to worry about major impacts to financial markets or potential impacts to things like electricity production facilities.”
Most people steer well clear of the dark web – it’s the internet’s version of the underworld that a lot of people are perfectly content knowing absolutely nothing about.
But obviously there are a lot of people who do browse on there and some of the stuff they see is chilling, to say the least.
A hacker with over 30 years of experience of sneaking into software and doing deep dives into data previously revealed the scariest things he has ever come across on the dark web.
He started off by recalling some ‘destructive attackers’ who ‘want to see the world burn’ – so you can already get the gist of what sort of content is on there.
The anonymous man explained he once considered himself a ‘black hat’ of the web, meaning he wasn’t bound by any kind of ethical code and was most likely motivated by malicious intent.
But now, he has changed his headwear and dubs himself a ‘white hat’ – a group of internet Good Samaritans who claim to work to improve the greater good, are bound by the law and are often tasked to find weak spots in security software.
The bloke explained that his new role involves searching for vulnerabilities in systems that could pose a ‘significant risk’.
The hacker told VICE in 2021: “I also do things like hunt the criminals who are targeting hospitals or who are targeting the businesses that I’m looking out for.”
Speaking about ransomware – a malicious software designed to block someone’s access to a computer system – the mystery man said: “It is an attack technique that’s been around for decades.
“Modern ransomware is usually a piece of malware that gets on your system, encrypts all of your data and then holds that hostage demanding that you contact the gangs that are operating it, paying them in some form of currency before they’ll give you the key that decrypts your data.”
Just like the rest of us, there are some times when his job gets really tough – except this fella has got a lot more at stake due to the fact he’s dealing with the dark web.
Speaking about some of the things he’s witnessed, he continued: “I’ve watched hospitals get encrypted and people are left with a choice: do I pay to decrypt the data or do I risk lives?”
He went on to explain how hacking has changed over the years: “Back when it started ransomware was charging hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands of dollars for individual targets.
“The bigger payouts that we’re talking about now are easily into the tens of millions. This last, most recent attack, they offered $70 million dollars for the campaign key, which is the key that would have unlocked every single computer encrypted during that attack. So we’re talking high-stakes games here.”
Speaking about what the future will hold, he said: “I don’t think we have to worry too much about our nuclear arsenal being taken over movie style and used against us. But I do think we have to worry about major impacts to financial markets or potential impacts to things like electricity production facilities.”
