At this very moment, a hacker known as “0x80” is controlling over 13,000 computers across more than 20 countries. 0x80 is a prime example of a new generation hacker who can rake in piles of USD through computer intrusion techniques. 
For skilled hackers like 0x80, who is still in his early twenties, no computer is safe.
In just six hours of lying in bed, 0x80 (21 years old) can infiltrate nearly 2,000 personal computers around the globe. Even while 0x80 sleeps, the software he created continues to scour the Internet for computers with security vulnerabilities, injecting a few viruses and turning those computers into unwilling “slaves.”
The Invisible Man
Under 0x80’s command, the “slave” machines begin to retrieve and install software that automatically inputs advertising emails from adult websites. Once the installation process is complete, the victim’s computer autonomously searches the Internet to attack other computers. Thus, in a short period, numerous computers will obey the commands of the invisible 0x80.
After two weeks of work, 0x80 averages $300 from one of the online advertising companies. “All day long, I just sit at home, chatting for fun while making money,” 0x80 told a Washington Post reporter (in an interview where both his name and residence were kept confidential). “I receive a check every 15 days through the mail and many other checks from Canadian banks every 30 days.” 0x80 revealed that his “hacking profession” brings in an average of $6,800/month, a considerable sum for a dropout student. In technical jargon, computers that are hacked (and controlled remotely) are called “robots” or “bots,” and a group of these computers is referred to as a “botnet.” For hackers, botnets are used to send millions of assorted advertising emails, from Viagra to other ridiculous ads, using spyware.
The spyware epidemic has become a chronic headache for the online world. The “service” of sending advertising emails via spyware has turned into a $2 billion industry alongside the boom of botnets.
A few months ago, the FBI apprehended 20-year-old Jeanson James Ancheta in Southern California for installing spyware into a botnet consisting of over 400,000 computers! Ancheta’s victims included computer systems at the U.S. Navy’s warfare center and the Defense Information Systems Agency. Like Ancheta, 0x80 is also a master at creating botnets. Living with his family in the Midwestern United States, 0x80 (who lies to his family about working for a web design company) spends much of his time studying cybersecurity and programming spyware with continuous improvements.
The victims of 0x80 include a diverse group, many of whom have online accounts with PayPal, eBay, Bank of America, and Citibank. 0x80 claims he even developed a program that allows the removal of old spyware from victims’ computers to install new spyware. 0x80 is paid $0.20 per spyware installation on computers in the U.S. and $0.05 for computers in 16 other countries, including France, the UK, and Germany.
The Burden of Spam
According to anti-spam company Brightmail, global spam has increased tenfold in the past nine months and has now become a “persistent threat.” In April 2004 alone, there were over 3.1 billion spam messages (compared to about 300 million in August 2003). Nothing is more irritating than receiving countless spam emails daily, mostly advertising consumer goods, services, non-cultural products, and even nonsense propaganda.
In the U.S., spam began its assault more than a decade ago when millions of American computers received ads like “10 Fastest Ways to Make Money,” and since then, spam has become a constant source of frustration for Internet users. During President Bill Clinton’s administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) established an email address ([email protected]) for consumers to report spam samples so that the FTC could identify which companies were advertising via spam emails and penalize them. Currently, the FTC’s inbox holds 27.5 million “spam samples,” and the agency receives about 85,000 spam messages daily. The more you browse and transact online, the greater your risk of falling victim to spam.
In the online world, stealing email addresses is child’s play. Hackers can purchase email addresses from employees at Internet service providers or steal them from inboxes associated with your online transactions. Meanwhile, the increasing number of websites requesting personal data (such as those of American newspapers) has made email addresses even more vulnerable to theft and a target for spam.
Indestructible?
At the World Economic Forum held in January 2004, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates declared that the spam nightmare would end before 2006. However, based on the current reality, completely eliminating spam worldwide seems impossible. In November 2003, the U.S. Congress passed an anti-spam law, and in mid-December 2003, President George W. Bush signed the first national anti-spam legislation. The vision of a “spam-free world” as envisioned by Bill Gates is still far from reality.
In the meantime, the economic and social damages caused by spam are not insignificant. According to Radicati Group Inc, there are currently about 980 million active email accounts worldwide (40% of which are corporate email accounts), with approximately 15 billion emails exchanged daily. The eWEEK publication reports that spam costs an average of $1,934 per worker per year (in terms of lost productivity). This loss averaged $874 per worker per year as of July 2003. According to Popular Science magazine, in 2003, spam caused over $10 billion in damages to the U.S. industry. Thus, it’s no surprise that U.S. Senator Debra Bowen remarked, “I feel outraged and disgusted,” when discussing the phenomenon of spam.
