We often hear the term, "The Dark Web", thrown around but what is it, really? Simply put, the dark web is a collection of web servers serving content that is only accessible by use of special software that allows the server operators and folks accessing the content to remain anonymous... maybe.
We can easily come up with several legitimate reasons why someone browsing a web site may want to remain anonymous but what about server operators and those frequenting those servers? The list of legitimate reasons for anonymity begins to taper off when looking at that particular situation and a whole new list of nefarious reasons begins to grow. Some of those reasons include the sale of weapons and drugs, child trafficking, organized crime, and, of particular interest to technology, the sale of compromised computers, personal information, and stolen passwords.
Using this environment of apparent anonymity, cyber criminals can monetize their stolen goods and carry out new attacks. But why did I mention, "maybe", above and allude to apparent anonymity? Many law enforcement and intelligence agencies have captured or created entry and exit points for the dark web. This means they can see who goes in, who goes out, and where they go. In addition, many companies are now searching and cataloging the dark web much like Google does the regular web. They are cataloging the dark web to collect the data and use it to alert potential victims of their data being sold and trafficked online.
So how does this tie back to you? Contracting a company to monitor the dark web on behalf of your business can give you critical intelligence and can often serve as an early warning system of a pending attack. These services can alert when passwords, IP addresses, and other sensitive information is published on the dark web. Should you receive one of these alerts, you can immediately take action to protect the compromised assets.
Dark Web monitoring is a critical new tool to protect business from cyber attacks!
