"RAND National Security Research Division."

"This research was conducted within the Acquisition and Technology Policy (ATP) Center of the RAND National Security Research Division (NSRD)"--Preface.

Title from title screen (viewed on March 25, 2014).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-65).

Introduction and Research Methodology -- Characteristics of the Black Market -- The Black Market and Botnets -- Zero-Day Vulnerabilities in the Black and Gray Markets -- Are Hacker Black Markets Mature? -- Projections and Predictions for the Black Market -- Conclusions -- For Future Research -- Appendix A: Text of the Black Market Timeline -- Appendix B: Glossary.

Criminal activities in cyberspace are increasingly facilitated by burgeoning black markets for both tools (e.g., exploit kits) and take (e.g., credit card information). This report, part of a multiphase study on the future security environment, describes the fundamental characteristics of these markets and how they have grown into their current state to explain how their existence can harm the information security environment. Understanding the current and predicted landscape for these markets lays the groundwork for follow-on exploration of options to minimize the potentially harmful influence these markets impart. Experts agree that the coming years will bring more activity in darknets, more use of crypto-currencies, greater anonymity capabilities in malware, and more attention to encrypting and protecting communications and transactions; that the ability to stage cyberattacks will likely outpace the ability to defend against them; that crime will increasingly have a networked or cyber component, creating a wider range of opportunities for black markets; and that there will be more hacking for hire, as-a-service offerings, and brokers. Experts disagree, however, on who will be most affected by the growth of the black market (e.g., small or large businesses, individuals), what products will be on the rise (e.g., fungible goods, such as data records and credit card information; non-fungible goods, such as intellectual property), or which types of attacks will be most prevalent (e.g., persistent, targeted attacks; opportunistic, mass “smash-and-grab” attacks).

Mode of access: internet via WWW.

Description based on online resource.