Research finds Apple IDs to be rather expensive

Mar 8, 2018 11:12 GMT  ·  By
Enabling two-factor authentication could help even if the credentials have been exposed
   Enabling two-factor authentication could help even if the credentials have been exposed

A new research reveals that Apple IDs are extremely valuable on the dark web, as they represent the most expensive non-financial accounts that hackers are selling these days.

Top10VPN, a company that offers VPN services, reveals that Apple IDs cost on average $15.39 each, and this is the highest price a buyer needs to pay for an account that’s not related in any way to financial services.

On the other hand, PayPal credentials are the highest rated with a price of $274 per account, while Western Union accounts can be purchased for “just” $101. Debit cards are typically sold for $67.50, while credit cards are generally more affordable at $50.

Microsoft accounts used for connecting to Skype cost less than $10, the report claims, but hackers use them for spreading malware, links to compromised websites, or phishing links.

Phishing scams

Most of the accounts sold on the dark web are based on phishing scams, and Apple IDs themselves have been the target of such attempts for quite a while now.

The Fappening scandal, for example, which involved the intimate pictures of celebrities across the world being stolen and published online, was started after hackers managed to compromise iCloud accounts and steal Apple ID credentials to access photos stored in the cloud.

By default, iPhones are configured to upload photos from the camera roll to iCloud for backing up purposes, and by getting access to these accounts, hackers basically obtained the rights to view and download all photos.

It goes without saying that there are ways to protect against phishing scams, and one of the most convenient is to never provide your credentials on websites without first checking whether it’s a legitimate page or not. Apple never asks for your password, and enabling two-factor authentication protects you even if credentials are in any exposed.