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Russian-speaking hackers become leaders in creation of Trojans in 2016 - expert

The expert stressed that creation of malware has now turned into a business

INNOPOLIS, April 7. /TASS/. Russian-speaking hackers became leaders in creation of Trojans for personal computers (PCs) in 2016, Sergey Zolotukhin, Business Development Manager of Group-IB, said at the Russian Internet Governance Forum.

Group-IB specializes in investigation of computer crimes.

The expert stressed that creation of malware has now turned into a business: it is developed for sale and the purchased Trojans are used by different groups around the world.

"Russian-speaking hackers, not Russian, but Russian-speaking, are involved in development of 16 of the 19 Trojans for personal computers, which are most commonly used for cyberattacks," Zolotukhin said, referring to the annual report of Group-IB.

At the same time, the crime has become a service, Zolotukhin stressed.

"In order to mount an attack, you do not need to write a new code, create a new botnet - it can be rented for a week, two, three. This malware is written, sold and after that someone uses it to conduct attacks, someone "leases" these people, " the expert added.

Moreover, the Group-IB study shows that some of the illegally obtained money hackers invest in Research and Development.

"It (the shadow market - TASS) grows roughly in proportion to the number of attacks. Our research shows that 20-30% of the revenues criminals raise from cybercrimes are invested into research and development, they invest in themselves, in new attacks," Zolotukhin said.