ATLANTA — In 2015, hacking is more than the just the cyber espionage you hear about with Sony and Home Depot. Everyday people are hiring hackers.
Now it’s easier than ever.
Sometimes it’s legal and sometimes it’s not.
“When you have situations like blackmail, or you’re being cyber extorted, or someone’s hacked into your corporate network and shutdown your website you need people like us,” said Hacker for Hire founder Greg Evans.
After spending years on the criminal side of cyberspace, he’s now exclusively a hacker for legitimate purposes. However, he admits he’s received plenty of illegal requests. Several people ask him to hack into the credit bureaus or prison systems to clean up their records.
“Around March, we’ll start getting a lot of people that ask, can you change my grades,” Evans said.
While Evans won’t take those jobs, there are plenty of hackers willing to lend their services. Their legality, however, is questionable.
Browsing hacker websites, where hackers sell their services like craisglist, you’ll find plenty of illegal requests.
One person is offering $500 for every Gmail account someone can hack into. Another wants someone to hack into their “cheating husband’s” password. There’s even a request to hack into the DMV.
“That is illegal. If they find out, then you’re going to jail,” Evans said.
So if you’re going to hire a hacker, stick with the legal reasons.