As tech jobs stagnate, new research claims the dark web job market becomes more attractive

Kaspersky report says young tech workers are turning to the dark web for jobs
The average age of applicants is only 24 years old.
Dark web workers can earn more than $5,000 a month

As the global job market deteriorates due to layoffs, difficult recruitment assessments and new artificial intelligence programs designed to eliminate parts of the workforce, new research has claimed that graduates and young people are increasingly turning to the dark web for jobs.

Unfortunately for them, Kaspersky research reveals that the dark web job market is not as easy as one might imagine, with applicants on the dark web outnumbering job offers by 55 to 45, and 69% of candidates are open to any field, making fierce competition the order of the day.

Worryingly, the average age of job seekers is just 24, suggesting that qualified young graduates are unable to find legitimate employment and are instead forced to switch allegiances and use their skills against the cybersecurity industry.

A lucrative change

Kaspersky’s report found that those who move to the dark web can be well rewarded, with reverse engineers earning an average of $5,000 per month, closely followed by penetration testers at $4,000/month and developers at $2,000/month.

“The parallel labor market is no longer peripheral; it is absorbing the unemployed, the underage and the overqualified,” says Alexandra Fedosimova, digital footprint analyst at Kaspersky.

‘Many arrive thinking that the dark web and the legal market are fundamentally similar, rewarding proven skills over diplomas, and the dark web even offers some benefits, such as offers that arrive within 48 hours and without HR interviews. However, not many realize that working on the dark web can lead to jail time.”

The tech industry is stagnating as AI eliminates jobs (junior positions have been cut in half in recent years), and given the state of the rest of the job market, it’s no surprise that some of those highly skilled workers are turning to less legitimate means to survive.

Organizations are saving money in the short term by eliminating junior roles and replacing them with AI, but if the dark web is fueling these talents, ten years from now, when senior developers retire, the deck will be stacked against defenders.