"Hackers aren't looking for fame anymore," says Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CTO of Israeli security firm Finjan. Unlike in earlier years, their fondest hope is no longer that their PC-crashing code prompts headlines and TV news coverage around the globe.

Instead, "Now they go and sell their vulnerabilities and spyware apps for money," Ben-Itzhak tells eSecurity Planet. He says hackers often solicit bids from various buyers of known vulnerabilities; security holes that reveal users' financial information can command top dollar.

The link for this article located at eSecurityPlanet.com is no longer available.