alt Hacker NewsI started to write a comment about how low they probably were able to bribe people for but found this article [0] which put the number higher than I expected:
> One of the core LAPSUS$ members who used the nicknames “Oklaqq” and “WhiteDoxbin” posted recruitment messages to Reddit last year, offering employees at AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon up to $20,000 a week to perform “inside jobs.”
That said, this is but one instance and I'd imagine that on the whole they are able to bribe people at much lower numbers. See also: how little it takes to bribe some government officials.
[0] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/03/a-closer-look-at-the-lap...
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If they were looking to access government back doors at these providers then it would not be your usual hack - and worth a lot more. I have no idea if this is how an entire domestic surveillance network got strung up, but it would make sense at those numbers (though those numbers still seem very low for such a betrayal and potential consequences)
The cost for access can be surprisingly low. Not all that many years ago it was pretty cheap to pay an editor at wiki or DMOZ or any of a few dozen other 'trusted sources' on the internet to get something added, or removed. I stopped traveling in those circles a long time ago, but I know that they are still very active and the cost is still surprisingly low.
While not code level access, these sorts of things are far more common than anyone wants to admit to.