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Benefits of Monitoring the Dark Web

January 17, 2023 by Paul Schwegler

The Dark Web is a hub for criminal activity. Even if your business is legitimate, you can’t ignore the Dark Web entirely. This article will explain the Dark Web and the benefits of monitoring its thousands of pages.

The US government created the Dark Web in the mid-1990s for spies to exchange information. It is still visited today by journalists and law enforcement agencies. People in countries prohibiting open communication might also use the Dark Web.

Yet the Dark Web is also home to illegal activity. This is where users can find weapons, child pornography, and counterfeit money. Criminals can also access malware, leaked data, and stolen information (including access credentials).

Bad actors like the Dark Web because it isn’t something you can find on your typical browser. The Dark Web is hidden from standard search engines, and you need specific software, configurations, or authorization to access it. Users also hide their IP addresses and use encryption to mask their identities.

Why Monitor the Dark Web?

There’s a real threat of your business suffering cyber assault. This could result in brand damage, significant financial losses, and intellectual property theft. If your business isn’t monitoring the Dark Web, you won’t know what is on there that could harm your business.

Dark Web monitoring can help you find:

  • compromised usernames and passwords;
  • proprietary company information available online;
  • stolen customer lists;
  • evidence of employee identity theft.

With Dark Web monitoring, you can limit damage to your bottom line and brand reputation. Surveillance can also help you find weaknesses and plan to prevent future attacks.

How Does Dark Web Monitoring Work?

Dark Web monitoring checks chat rooms, blogs, forums, private networks, and other sites that criminals visit. Using human and artificial intelligence, scans search for stolen customer lists or data, staff login passwords, and business email domains and IP addresses. You’re notified if there are any issues. Awareness can reduce the time it takes to discover a breach and address weaknesses.

Protecting Your Business from the Dark Web

Monitoring is the only way to shore up your cybersecurity. Obviously, it’s better if the scans find nothing from your business. So, it’s a good idea to strengthen your cyber hygiene. You can do so by:

  • educating employees about secure passwords and how to spot a phishing scam;
  • investing in password managers and antivirus and anti-malware software;
  • keeping all hardware and software up to date.

Monitoring the Dark Web is not something every business can handle solo. Even though the Dark web is far smaller than the Web you’re on every day, there are thousands of pages to scan.

Our experts can boost your cybersecurity protections and set up Dark Web monitoring. Contact us today at (515)422-1995 to lower your risk profile.

Filed Under: Business, Security, Tips Tagged With: business, dark web, security, tips

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The Dark Web and Its Impact on Your Business

June 23, 2020 by Paul Schwegler

Business owners today know the internet is not only a force for good. Some people exploit the Web for ill intent. They congregate on the Dark Web, and small businesses need to understand the risks.

What is the Dark Web?

You and your employees spend time daily on the Web. They’re researching clients, checking out competitors, and searching for information. They are not accessing the Dark Web. The Dark Web houses dangerous, often illegal activity. This includes black-market drug sales, illegal firearm sales, and illicit pornography.

The Dark Web’s collection of websites is inaccessible using standard search engines or browsers. Users employ a Tor or I2P encryption tool to hide their identity and activity, and they spoof IP addresses.

To go into the Dark Web, you also need to be using the Tor or I2P service. Plus, you’d need to know where to find the site you are looking for. There are Dark Web directories, but they are unreliable. The people on the Dark Web don’t want their victims to find them. Ultimately, it’s not somewhere you or your employees need to be.

So, why do you need to know about it? Because Dark Web users can buy:

  • usernames and passwords
  • counterfeit money
  • stolen credit card numbers or subscription credentials
  • software to break into people’s computers
  • operational, financial, or customer data
  • intellectual property or trade secrets

The Dark Web is also where someone can hire a hacker to attack your computers.

The Dark Web business risk

The Dark Web itself isn’t illegal, and not all its traffic is criminal. It is also visited by journalists and law enforcement agencies, and it’s used in countries prohibiting open communication.

Yet the number of Dark Web listings that could harm your business is growing. A 2019 research study found that 60% of all listings could harm enterprises, and the number of those Dark Web listings has risen by 20% since 2016.

Business risks from these Dark Web listings include:

  • undermining brand reputation
  • loss of competitive advantage
  • denial-of-service attack or malware disruption
  • IP theft
  • fraudulent activity

With media attention on data breaches impacting millions, it’s easy to think a small business is not at risk. However, bad actors don’t target a business for its size – they look for ease of access.

Dark Web information is up to twenty times more likely to come from an unreported breach. Privacy specialists told a Federal Trade Commission Conference victims included medical practices, retailers, school districts, restaurant chains, and other small businesses.

Reduce your risk

If your information ends up on the Dark Web, there’s little you can do about it. The bright side, at least, is that you would know that your business security has been compromised. Be proactive instead. Keep your security protections current, and install security patches regularly.

Consider a unified threat management (UTM) device, or UTM appliance. The UTM plugs into your network to serve as a gateway and protect your business from malware, illicit access, and other security risks.

Your UTM security appliance can provide:

  • application control
  • anti-malware scanning
  • URL and content filtering
  • data loss prevention
  • email security
  • wireless and remote access management

Or let a managed services provider (MSP) take care of all aspects of protecting your business. Pay a consistent monthly fee for an MSP to handle all your technology, patching, monitoring, and assessment needs.

Stay on top of the latest cybersecurity threats with an MSP, or learn more about installing a UTM. We can help protect you from the dangers of the Dark Web. Call us today at (515)422-1995!

Filed Under: Business, Security, Tips Tagged With: business, dark web, security

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