As criminals continue to become more ingenious and sophisticated, more and more organizations are being victimized by cyberattacks, leading to significant financial losses and an impact on their intellectual properties. More often than not, the stolen information or data ends up being sold on the part of the internet that few have access to, called the dark web. For this reason, many companies have begun to invest in services and tools for monitoring the dark web to enhance their cyber security capabilities, and so should you.
Dark Web—what is it?
The dark web is defined as a network of decentralized websites designed with the purpose of providing users with high levels of anonymity, typically by routing their communications through several servers and utilizing various encryption methods. To those unfamiliar with it, the World Wide Web might appear like a considerable space with significant volumes of data that can be accessed through many search engines like Yahoo and Google.
However, the reality is that the sites available through traditional search methods are only four percent of all the data on the internet. The remaining ninety-six percent is commonly referred to as the deep web. While most of our activities online can be easily monitored and tracked, its dark web subsection offers anonymity. Because of this, the space is known for various criminal activities, including but not necessarily limited to, hosting and selling stolen information like credentials, passwords, financial information, personal details, and more.
Why Monitor the Dark Web?
There are some key advantages to the inclusion of monitoring the dark web into the cyber security strategy of an organization. The following are its primary benefits.
Helps identify and reduce data breaches.
The process of monitoring the dark web involves scanning and scouring this online space for any stolen consumer lists or data, login credentials, IP addresses, and email domains of a business. The discovery of this information will enable an organization to identify any ongoing or potential data breaches, allowing it to minimize, if not mitigate, the damage it can have to its reputation and finances. It also enables them to avoid it in the future.
Prepares organizations for possible threats.
Another advantage of this monitoring practice is that it aids businesses in learning about previous data breaches and the type of information that was stolen. With this insight, security teams are able to identify compromised systems and how the vulnerabilities were exploited and manipulated by the attackers. As a result, they’ll be able to create more robust action plans to ensure that they don’t happen again.
Safeguards consumer and employee data.
With the identification of consumer and employee data in this online space, companies can use the knowledge to prevent the exploitation of the information. This will ensure that any unauthorized personnel won’t be able to access any sensitive data.
Reduces the time for data breach discovery.
Few realize that it takes organizations longer to notice that they’ve been hacked. However, by staying on top of the dark web, you can quickly determine if a data breach has occurred and what information has been stolen quicker. This will make it much harder for cybercriminals to create copies or sell the data because they have less time to do it.
Improves customer trust.
Trust is everything in business. Without it, an organization will find it impossible to draw in prospects and generate sales. Because monitoring the dark web will help you protect customer information, it’ll strengthen their trust in your brand and encourage them to choose your company over your competitors.
Detecting emerging threats.
Apart from the sale of information, many cybercriminals use chat rooms and forums in the dark web for recruiting accomplices, exchanging information on procedures, tactics, and techniques, and discussing targets. By monitoring this chatter on the dark web, you may uncover mentions of the organization, its operations, and employees as potential targets. You might also find discussions regarding any planned attacks against your company, the software applications they’ll be using, and specific vulnerabilities that will be taken advantage of during the attack. In doing so, you can avoid being victimized by it.
Conclusion
It’s easy to see why so many organizations today try to stay on top of the dark web. After all, it enables them to find out whether or not they’ve been compromised and what data may have been stolen. It also allows them to prepare for any repercussions and ensure that it never happens again. However, keep in mind that there are risks involved in monitoring the dark web. So for those who are inexperienced or unfamiliar with it, it’s usually good standard practice to hire the services of an expert instead of shouldering the task yourself. Doing so will ensure that you get the desired results.
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