A new report has found that underground hacker markets are booming with counterfeit documents, credit cards, hacker tutorials and excellent customer service, despite attempts by the Federal Government to close them.

The Dell SecureWorks Inc. “Underground Hacking Markets Report 2014” (pdf) is a follow up report to a similar study in 2013, and compares and contrasts changes in the marketplace, particularly since the closure of the original Silk Road marketplace in late 2013.

The news is not good: not only is the market booming, the price of illicit items is rapidly decreasing relative to supply.

Authors Joe Stewart and David Shear found that current hacker underground markets are booming with counterfeit documents to further enable fraud, including new identity kits, passports, utility bills, social security cards and driver’s licenses. They note that “of course, these types of documents are required to commit many kinds of in-person fraud, whether it is buying high-end purchases with duplicated credit or debit cards at a retail outlet; applying for bank loans; committing check fraud; or attempting government fraud.”

An interesting, and perhaps surprising trend noted is that among other products, increasingly prominent in underground markets this year were hacker tutorials, which the authors describe as “taking a cue from legitimate businesses” in that “the hackers figured out that not only could they make money performing services, but they could make a little extra money teaching others.”

Titles targeted at newbies (beginner hackers) include topics such as carding, how to cash out credit cards via online shopping, how to do ATM hacks, and how to have 100 percent successful bank transfers. Tutorials explaining multiple illegal activities sell for around $30, while individual tutorials can go as low as $1. Guides covering exploit kits, crypters, DDoS attacks, spam attacks, and phishing are also readily available.

Premium credit card number sales have registered a strong rise in 2014 following an increasing number of high profile cyber security breaches throughout the year.

The last twist in the growth of the underground market is the rise of what the paper describes as  “excellent customer service.” Despite the demise of the original Silk Road and the emergence of dozens of competitors (including the now deceased Silk Road 2.0 and others,) reputation management has come to the fore among vendors selling illegal and stolen wares. A file full of stolen credit cards may not be offered with a full guarantee they’ll work, but they are being offered promptly and reliably by vendors looking for an edge in the recesses of the dark net.

“It is apparent that the underground hackers are monetizing every piece of data they can
steal or buy” the report concludes, “and are continually adding services so other scammers can successfully carry out online and in-person fraud.”

The full report can be read here (pdf.)