In hacking the value of non-monetary items has to be put in context to be understood. In a small way theft of digital items in game worlds is explained by competitive behaviour in the aggressor. The same is said about data. It has worth to those who scrape it for insights.
There’s an example of a Russian crime gang that learned about UK shopping habits. They used data stolen from a supermarket’s loyalty card system. This helped them to plot how to live here. They planned to stay here to burglarise.
The language used for our usernames and passwords also illustrates to hackers our preoccupations. It can be utilised to market fake goods and services. In fact, this data can often be more personal to us than our own home addresses.
There are Russian criminals who run illegal research ‘labs’ which have large stores of this sort of information. It’s not an immediate threat to the UK. However, at some point we may be targeted if a plot we’re not aware of fits our profile.
