You’ve probably heard of the dark web, but do you know how to utilise it to protect your business against cyber threats?
The dark web is a part of the internet unindexed by search engines and is most notably known for its underground marketplace. It’s here where you’ll commonly find illegal activity and sensitive data being traded, such as stolen credit cards, passwords, or personal information.
However, the dark web isn’t exclusively used by criminals. Journalists and whistleblowers use it to uncover sensitive information without being tracked, while data protection specialists use it for a process known as dark web or darknet monitoring.
But what is dark web monitoring and how does it work?
Keep reading to find out more.
In this article:
- What is dark web monitoring?
- How does dark web monitoring work?
- Why use deep and dark web monitoring?
- Benefits of dark web monitoring
- How can deep and dark web monitoring help with mergers and acquisitions?
- How does personal information find its way onto the dark web?
- How to protect your company from threats on the dark web
- Utilise deep and dark web monitoring to its highest potential with Trust Hogen
What is dark web monitoring?
The dark web is vast and difficult to navigate because of its unindexed nature. This makes it a ripe environment for hackers, who can easily hide in the shadows undetected. Because of this, businesses need to be proactive in their security.
Dark web scanners, like HaveIBeenPwned or Identity Guard, can useful tools for some businesses but these often aren’t enough.
Enter dark web monitoring. Dark web monitoring is the process of searching and analysing data found on the deep and dark web, including darknet markets, Tor networks, forums, and blogs.
This proactive security measure helps organisations detect threats originating from the dark web by using specialised software to troll through websites and databases for malicious activity or stolen information that can be used in cyberattacks against your business.
How does dark web monitoring work?
Dark web monitoring works by analysing data from the dark and deep web with specialised software. Millions of sites are analysed for specific information, such as:
- Stolen credentials
- Leaked information
- Malicious code which could be used to harm your business
- Corporate email addresses
- The company name
These are then typically sold on the dark web’s marketplace, with more complete personal profiles (how much dark web data is available on the victim) being valued at more money. We can see these average prices through the Dark Web Price Index.
Once this data is identified, the organisation is alerted so they can take swift action before any damage can occur. This is especially important because most dark web activity goes undetected.
The data is analysed using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and natural language processing (NLP). AI and NLP are used to identify patterns in the data which can then be used for threat analysis.
Why use deep and dark web monitoring?
Deep and dark web monitoring allows organisations to track cyber threats before they have a chance to wreak havoc. The dark web offers a unique insight into potential cybercriminal activity that would otherwise go undetected, allowing organisations to identify threats in real time.
Furthermore, organisations can use dark web monitoring to proactively discover other threats such as ransomware or DDoS attacks.
Benefits of dark web monitoring
The benefits of using dark web monitoring are vast. Here are just a few:
1. Proactive security – Dark web monitoring helps organisations detect cyber threats before they happen, allowing them to take swift action to prevent any damage from occurring.
2. Greater visibility – By analysing data from the deep and dark web, organisations can gain greater visibility into potential threats that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Any leaked data is swiftly identified alongside the amount of time the data has been exposed.
3. Reduced losses – With dark web monitoring, organisations can reduce the financial and reputational damages of cyberattacks
How can deep and dark web monitoring help with mergers and acquisitions?
Trust Hogen uses deep and dark web intelligence to help organisations prepare for mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Our deep and dark web intelligence can help ensure your organisation is prepared for any potential cyber threats that might arise from the merger process.
Using deep and dark web intelligence, we are able to provide you with a wealth of essential information to use during the due diligence process of an M&A. This information ranges from a company’s financial stability to malicious activity.
Dark web monitoring is an essential tool for today’s businesses looking to stay ahead of the ever-evolving threat landscape.
Read more: How Deep & Dark Web Intelligence Can Help With Mergers And Acquisitions
How does personal information find its way onto the dark web?
Personal information, credential and asset access are sold by cybercriminals on the dark web, allowing cyber attackers to get access to systems and networks. But how does this happen?
Cybercriminals use phishing or malware attacks to steal personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers from unsuspecting victims. They then post this data on the dark web, offering it up for sale to other criminals who can use it in future cyberattacks.
Common methods to steal your company’s sensitive and personal information include:
- Malware: Malicious software designed to steal data or gain unauthorised access to a system.
- Phishing: Fake emails pretending to be from a legitimate source, used to dupe victims into revealing sensitive information.
- Social engineering: Manipulative techniques such as misrepresentation and intimidation are used to exploit people’s trust.
- Vulnerabilities and exploits: Weaknesses in a system’s security measures which can be exploited by malicious attackers.
- Insecure networks: Unprotected networks which are vulnerable to attack by cybercriminals.
- Screen scraping: Automated scraping of data from websites to steal sensitive information.
- Keylogging: Installing software on a system to record each keystroke and steal passwords.
How to protect your company from threats on the dark web
The following methods are some of the best practices to implement in your company to stay protected from threats on the dark web:
- Strong IT hygiene: Regularly patching and updating your systems is the most important factor in keeping them secure.
- Implement multi-factor authentication: This will make sure that even if someone does gain access to your system, they won’t be able to get far without additional authentication.
- Build a cybersecurity culture through training: Regular training and awareness courses can help employees identify potential security threats and take the necessary action to protect your organisation.
- Identity management: Setting up secure user accounts and access rights for employees is a key step in the protection of your data.
- Protect all workloads: Make sure all workloads are protected, including virtual machines and cloud-based systems.
- Dark web monitoring: And, of course, you can use dark web monitoring in addition to the points above to protect your business from cyber threats.
Utilise deep and dark web monitoring to its highest potential with Trust Hogen
Thank you for reading our post on how dark web monitoring works.
Dark web monitoring is a vital proactive security measure used to detect and monitor any data that has been illegally exposed on the dark web.
By using deep and dark web monitoring, you can identify compromised information quickly and take swift action to prevent any reputational or financial damage from occurring.
Trust Hogen offers comprehensive dark web monitoring services to help you stay ahead of cyber threats. Our monitoring services are tailored to meet the needs of your business and provide you with a deep understanding of your data exposure, giving you peace of mind that your organisation is protected from malicious activity.
Contact us today to learn more about our dark web monitoring solutions and how we can help keep your business secure.