Big Money and Malware

[DamnIrish]

So, I was having a very limited discussion with someone who knows WAY more about computers and software than I do (I am a total newbie to this site and hacking in general) who was telling me that most malware is created and financed by "organized crime", specifically the Russion mob.
Apparently, in his opinion, between their time spent as pimps and drug dealers, or gun runners, they are hiring hackers to create these viruses as they can somehow make money off of this stuff.
Is any of this true? If so, is there a site or resource where I can read or find out more about this subject? I had never heard this before and found it to be a really interesting topic. Or maybe I just watched too much Law and Order this weekend.

[Martyy]

all that i know about this subject is what i read about it in slashdot.org ... that crap kind of scared me much enough so i reinstalled my windows

[Defience]

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/txt/archive/?postID=6070

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/antivirusantispyware/a/malware101.htm

[insomaniacal]

Some people with create giant botnets, then have every person in that botnet install a program. That program would probably be part of a "refferer" system. For every copy of a program that gets installed by you, you get a certain sum of money from that company. It's pretty easy to see how you could make a pretty penny doing this.

Organized crime syndicates are probably using their botnets to steal credit-card numbers, paypal accounts, and other such things. Then using them to their benefit. They could also be into extortion. For example threatening a company, saying they will DoS their site if they refuse to pay up.

[sanddbox]

I wouldn't say the true hackers create the viruses. They're not hard to create.

[DamegedSpy]

Hackers may create viruses however hardly get in the wild(Accidents happen)
Crackers and Skiddies(Crackers make "toolkits" and skiddies use them) are the people you call "hackers"
Please read this: hacker how to.

Malware is fairly simpler to develop than a simple game =P.
What some hackers did/do pranks that don't cause damage(As of losing important data permanently or bust hardware).
You may find more. Feel free to explore the above site.

[sanddbox]

Ugh. That C word again.

Honestly, crackers (god I hate that term) are just the people that break into systems. That doesn't mean they necessarily design the tools that script kiddies use.

[DamegedSpy]

Ok you got me in that one.
Any programmer could make those tools for money.(Including hackers)
Crackers, well they are good at it

[sanddbox]

*flinches*

Click me!

[tgoe]

Anyone able to produce a successful virus these days meets the criteria for being deemed a hacker IMHO.