Recently, Secure Computing Corporation announced that rapid change in- and high profitability of- cybercrime are driving cyber thieves to increasingly adopt a related and lucrative profession -- selling hacking tools to budding hackers -- which range from individual viruses to comprehensive kits -- which ultimately enable hackers to devise their own attacks.

The firm pegs current online availability of hacking tools at more than 68,000.

Benjamin Low, managing director (Southeast Asia and India) of Secure Computing, warned, "The world of cybercrime is evolving at an amazing speed. Cybercriminals are getting very innovative in their methods to devise new ways of infltrating security systems, and once they have achieved that, they are now reaping the rewards of this booming industry by selling their proven methods to others."

A majority of these tools are free, but they require some skills to operate. An increasing number of hackers are offering kits such as: MPack, Shark 2, Nuclear, WebAttacker, and IcePack for sale that are easier to use, and succeed in propelling even the uninitiated into the world of cybercrime.

Top class hacking tools can today cost as much as $1,000, with the most expensive of these selling along with 12 months technical support.

According to Low, the risks involved are minimal. Even if the kits are used to commit crime, they cannot be traced back to the concerned hacking group since most kits come with a disclaimer saying the software is for educational purposes only.

The only risk, if at all, is that people might steal the software (kits) and sell it at an even lower price than the hackers.