- NordVPN has released a new tool that calculates the price of your online data
- It is based on research into 75,000 postings on dark web marketplaces
- The study shows that US data is currently the cheapest to buy
NordVPN invites you to understand the price of your personal data online with a new tool based on extensive dark web research.
TechRadar’s Best VPN analyzed over 75,000 listings on dark web marketplaces and compiled a list of personal data commonly traded there. From bank accounts to Netflix subscriptions to credit card information, these data subjects were often sold on the dark web for as little as $5.
To illustrate the point, the VPN provider has turned all of its research into an interactive calculator that helps you figure out how much your unique and sensitive data is actually worth if it falls into the wrong hands.
How does it work?
NordVPN’s calculator challenges users to find out their own digital worth. By selecting their country and types of data, the tool displays a figure corresponding to the price a cybercriminal would pay to purchase this data package on the dark web.
“Every online account you own has a price tag on the dark web,” warns Marijus Briedis, CTO at NordVPN.
This may not be anything new: Insurance companies have long been in the business of putting a monetary figure on a human life.
However, the dark web has gone a step further, allowing criminal market dynamics to set the price of our digital assets at shockingly low levels – even as little as $1 for a personal email account if sold in bulk.
NordVPN’s research shows that prices vary significantly from country to country, depending on supply and demand dynamics.
It is perhaps not surprising that Americans’ personal data is the most sought after in the world. Less obvious, however, is that the plethora of security breaches there also make it the cheapest to buy.
Stolen prepaid credit cards from North America sell for as little as $10 and account for over 70% of all stolen card lists. However, in countries where stolen data is more scarce, such as Japan or Singapore, the same cards are sold at a significant premium.
The same logic applies to data packets – sets of information, including identification numbers and dates of birth, sufficient to steal a person’s identity. Where an American package sells for $35, a Japanese one is worth many times that amount.
A subtle, dramatic threat
The tool also shows how the effects of criminal theft can range from almost imperceptible to dramatic.
At one end of the spectrum, criminals can build continuous subscription-like businesses by stealing and reselling Netflix or Spotify accounts that cost as little as $4.55 and are often invisible to you.
On the other end, your complete identity, including social media accounts, can be purchased for less than $150 and massively disrupt your life.
Between these two extremes lies the intermediate corporate case, where NordVPN has found over 14,000 lists of corporate email addresses on the dark web. These accounts act as gateways to the entire corporate network, potentially leading to significant and often irreversible business damage.
“The reality is that your data could already be for sale and you would have no way of knowing unless you actively check,” warns Briedis. Its Dark Web Monitoring Pro actively scans the dark web for leaked credit card numbers, tax ID numbers and phone numbers.
If our data is so cheap to buy, how should we respond? If there’s one key takeaway, it’s that identity theft isn’t always dramatic, and vigilance is key.
As cyber attacks continue to increase, using unique passwords for each account through a trusted password manager, enabling multi-factor authentication and limiting the sharing of personal information online can make all the difference.
