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What is the Dark Web and how does it threaten my business?

Introduction.

Even though most people know the term “dark web” these days, most people are still pretty unclear what exactly it is. 

Thanks to news articles were probably vaguely aware of it as some kind of shadowy underworld where criminals do their murky business.  Or, if our understanding comes more from movies and TV shows, maybe we think of it more as one of the ways that James Bonds’ enemies undertake their nefarious plans.

In this module, we’ll help set people straight on exactly what the Dark Web is, and the role it plays in the sort of cyber criminal activities that could threaten your business.

What is the Dark Web?

In its simplest definition the Dark Web is any part of the internet that is not visible to, or cannot be accessed by, normal everyday tools, such as web browsers. Essentially, it is “dark” because it can’t be seen by regular means.

The dark web doesn’t necessarily mean criminal, but the fact that it’s not easy for authorities to scan and monitor it does mean it lends itself very nicely to activities that need to be kept secret!

Here’s a great summary of the Dark Web from Nord VPN:

How does the Dark Web threaten my business?

The dark web is a threat to your business because it’s where your business data could end up being traded if your details are breached in a cyber attack.

Not all cyber attacks are about installing ransomware and talking your business for everything it’s got. Those kinds of attack are complicated and take time. Many hackers prefer to get in, get your account details, and slip off to the dark web where they can sell them to the kinds of hackers who do want to rinse you of all your money.

This is where the dark web becomes a threat, because if your account details are being traded on the Dark Web, it’s only a matter of time before you are targeted too.

Dark Web monitoring.

This is where dark web monitoring tools come in.  These tools are used to scan the dark web marketplace for your account details and alert you if they crop up. This gives you the heads up you need to take preventative action like changing passwords or deleting payment details.

Here’s a sample Dark Web scan report from our own Dark Web Monitoring service (click to download):

Single reports like this are useful to see just how exposed you are right now, but an Dark Web Monitoring service which checks continuously and provided alerts is a better way for businesses to protect themselves against future attack.

I now understand…

• What the most common phishing attack methods are.
• How to protect my business against phishing attacks.