Posted on 11/25/2009 6:33:58 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Goldmine of black market in Russian data
By Charles Clover in Moscow
Published: November 24 2009 17:59 | Last updated: November 24 2009 17:59
Gorbushka Market, just outside central Moscow, does a thriving trade in any electronics good you could want: mobile phones, plasma television sets, the latest DVDs, and, if you ask to see them, software peddlers will show potential clients a list of “databases”.
These consist of CDs with names such as “Ministry of Interior – Federal Road Safety Service”, “Tax Service” and “Federal Anti-Narcotics Service” and cost about $100 apiece. Each contains confidential information gathered by Russian law enforcement or government agencies: anything from arrest records, personal addresses, passport numbers, phone records or address books to bank account details, known associates, tax data and flight records are on offer.
In some malls these are sold openly, but in Gorbushka, after a recent police sweep, sellers are more discreet; one merchant gives shoppers a list of available titles and offers to burn the discs for Rbs3,000 ($104, €70, £63) on the spot. He said there was no moral dilemma about selling personal information. “There is a market and we fill it. It’s not a question mark for me,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
How much for BO’s birth certificate????????????
Har.
Arrest records - $104.00
Bank account numbers - $104.00
B.O. Birth Certificate -PRICELESS!
I hope our CIA guy in Moscow is visiting the market. We could use some spy successes.
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