A leading cybercrime figure has claimed that a single hacking operation can fetch ten million dollars or more in illicit gains. This perspective emerged in an interview with a publication called Tutku, where the former hacker Petr Severa Levashov spoke about the economics of cybercrime.
Levashov argued that the financial rewards from hacking can far exceed those found in traditional white-collar information security roles. He also warned about substantial risks, including the possibility of long prison sentences, that come with criminal activity in this field.
He noted that the sums involved are not always regular, and the danger of incarceration is real. Yet the scale of payouts remains enormous when operations succeed, with crypto-ransomware campaigns sometimes delivering tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments, he explained.
As an illustrative example, Levashov pointed to a high-profile incident involving Garmin, where attackers reportedly received over ten million dollars to restore access to its systems. At that time, the breach involved more than one criminal actor operating as a team, underscoring the collaborative nature of many cybercrime ventures.
“Consider a single hack that yields twenty million dollars in total and imagine a single operator taking a substantial share, such as four million dollars,” he said. “That represents a single job with dramatic earnings potential.”
In contrast to the lucrative nature of illicit work, Levashov noted that skilled programmers can earn considerably in legitimate industries, with monthly salaries ranging from three hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand rubles, and up to one million rubles in senior positions. The path to mastery in legitimate tech sectors often leads to progression and higher compensation over time.
Previously, regional authorities in Lipetsk reported the detention of a retiree accused of compromising the PlayStation 3 console, highlighting that cybercrime can involve individuals from diverse backgrounds and age groups, not just younger hackers. This case underscores the ongoing attention from law enforcement to vulnerabilities in consumer technology and the evolving methods used by criminals to exploit them. [Source: Tutku interview and subsequent public reporting, attribution requested]