Thomas Brewster reports:
They’re called access brokers: hackers who find ways onto business or government computers and open up backdoors, charging others for entry. Typical buyers include cybercriminals wielding ransomware, the malware that’s been a scourge for global businesses and governments in recent months. For the sellers, advertising their breaches in the dark forums of the internet, morals don’t come into the equation when profit is all that matters. At-risk targets include academic institutions, healthcare providers, and even charitable organizations.
[…]
As for cost, the average price for a route inside a healthcare institution was over $3,800, compared to $6,150 for a government body. Geography also affected price, with U.S. and U.K. victims attracting a higher price, averaging around $4,000.
Read more at Forbes.
These access offerings can be found on any number of forums these days, and ransomware groups even advertise that they are interested in buying access.