Initial Access Brokers have Shifted to High-Value Targets and Premium Pricing
Rapid7's analysis of H2 2025 cybercrime forum activity (Exploit, XSS, BreachForums, DarkForums, RAMP) reveals Initial Access Brokers have shifted toward high-value targets with dramatically increased pricing (4055% average base price increase YoY) and prioritized high-privilege access (Domain Admin/User at 75% of offerings). RDP, VPN, and RDWeb remain dominant vectors; Government, Retail, and IT sectors are primary targets; U.S. organizations represent 30.9% of global listings, with DarkForums and RAMP now dominating older forums like XSS.