When your laptop is infected with infostealing malware, it\u2019s not just hackers that might get your passwords, billing and email addresses, and a list of sites or services you\u2019ve created accounts on, potentially including some embarrassing ones. A private intelligence company run by a young founder is now taking that hacked data from what it says are more than 50 million computers, and reselling it for profit to a wide range of different industries, including debt collectors; couples in divorce proceedings; and even companies looking to poach their rivals\u2019 customers. Essentially, the company is presenting itself as a legitimate, legal business, but is selling the same sort of data that was previously typically sold by anonymous criminals on shady forums or underground channels.<\/p>\n
Multiple experts 404 Media spoke to called the practice deeply unethical, and in some cases the use of that data probably illegal. The company is also selling access to a subset of the data to anyone for as little as $50, and 404 Media used it to uncover unsuspecting victims\u2019 addresses.<\/p>\n
This post is for paid members only<\/p>\n
Become a paid member for unlimited ad-free access to articles, bonus podcast content, and more.<\/p>\n