Who’s paying these prices? Western governments, and specifically the U.S., says the Grugq, who himself is a native of South Africa. He limits his sales to the American and European agencies and contractors not merely out of ethical concerns, but also because they pay more. “Selling a bug to the Russian mafia guarantees it will be dead in no time, and they pay very little money,” he says, explaining that he has no contacts in the Russian government. ”Russia is flooded with criminals. They monetize exploits in the most brutal and mediocre way possible, and they cheat each other heavily.”

As for China, he says that the country has too many hackers who sell only to the Chinese government, pushing down prices. “The market is very depressed,” he says. Other regions like the Middle East and the rest of Asia can’t match Western prices either.

As a result, the Grugq earns 80% of his revenue from the U.S., though occasionally the developers who work with him have asked that he sell only to Europeans. Over more than a decade in the hacker scene, he’s met enough federal agents to have contacts at multiple U.S. agencies, and he knows how to package his developer’s exploits for sale to those buyers, with professional marketing and support. “You’re basically selling commercial software, like anything else. It needs to be polished and come with documentation,” he says. “The only difference is that you only sell one license, ever, and everyone calls you evil.”

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