The startup Farnsworth Intelligence was in the center of the scandal: journalists have found that the company sells access to a database collected with more than 50 million infected computers.
For $ 50, anyone can receive information about the victims of hacker attacks – addresses, email, logins and even saved forms of auto -filling browsers.
Data is collected using viruses that penetrate the system through pirate software and steal cookies, passwords and other sensitive information.
If earlier such information was sold only on shadow forums, now Farnsworth now does it “legally” and openly offers it to private detectives, collectors, lawyers and companies hunting for competitors.
Experts call this practice immoral and, possibly, illegal. The sale of stolen information may violate the laws on confidentiality and even fall under articles about industrial espionage.
