Importance of Dark Web Monitoring

What is Dark Web?

The Internet is immense and continuously developing, and most of us scratch only the surface. Search engine like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and more shows only 4% of the overall data available on the internet. To access the additional 96% requires customized digging through individual sites, subpages, restricted access journals, archives and so on. This data is available at the Deep Web. It is also important to understand that pretty much everything we do online is visible, traceable, and possibly being monitored except for the areas of the deep web that are masked by the Dark Web. Considering the web as an ocean of information can be categorized into the following three types.

Surface Web is a web which is accessible by anyone and anywhere without any restriction. It is what we call the world wide web. We can find anything on the surface web as everything is indexed by search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo and more.

Deep Web includes all the information which is publicly not accessible as regular search engines do not index it. You need special permission to get into the deep web where 96% of information on internet lies.

Dark Web is a web which is not indexed by any search engines, and this is the platform where all illegal activity takes place, and It is only 1% of the deep web.

In Case your information is found on the dark web, it has a huge possibility to those who land on the dark web to get access to your data. Data might be related to your personal information, bank details, credit card/ debit card information, health records, credentials or more. This leaked data/information can cause personal/financial damage as well as reputational damage to an organization.

So, Dark Web Monitoring is the best solution to prevent or reduce the damage from these attacks or data leak.

What is Dark Web Monitoring?

Dark Web Monitoring is an identity theft prevention process that let the company monitor its confidential data on the dark web and notifies if found on the dark web. This will let you limit the damage of a data breach and take necessary action to protect your business, staff, clients, and more from a potential attack.

The most recognized activities that are found over a dark web:

• Botnets
• Bitcoin Services
• Darknet Market
• Hacking group and services
• Illegal financing
• Fraud Services
• Phishing and scams
• Illegal Pornography
• Terrorism

Advantages of Dark Web Monitoring

• Finding Data Breaches – An advanced software is crucial to find out the stolen credentials and other individual data that is spread on the dark web networks. To find any relevant information or data, you can set up your queries on the software. They continuously screen the open, dark, deep web and afterwards channel these searches through the AI technologies to know which are relevant. Later we put a person for further screening of the information to get a better result.
• Detecting Physical Threats Against People and Assets – The large attraction for the lawbreakers to the dark web is that all clients need to utilize an encrypted browser to get to the dark web which is completely anonymized on their presence. This implies lawbreakers can and do discuss their action, either to brag or as a feature of their arrangements. By dark web monitoring, you can continually screen the dark web and when a criminal discusses or possibly compromises one of your staff or resources you can know quickly.
• Predicting Potential Terrorist Attacks – Companies are screening physical threats against them on the web, the dark web is also a spot where terrorist go to plan, organize, and initiate. By checking the dark web, the company can get on their discussion and utilize the information accumulated to possibly foresee and detect terrorist danger which has been targeted at the company.

Best Practices – To Protect your organization

• Encrypted cloud services – The companies must provide online cloud services where they will encrypt and authorize the file for repository access. Only the authorized user can access the file. An extra layer of security keeps passwords and data safe.
• Think before clicking links – Make sure the employees are on the lookout for suspicious links that can lead to ransomware. The users should open attachments from proven and trusted sources, no matter how “official” that extensions look.
• Regular Backup – Organization should make a regular weekly backup of the data to avoid data loss and recover the issue instantly.
• Cloud Security Assessment – The organization should do a proper cloud security assessment periodically to ensure the safety of employees and the organization’s information.
• Protect with passwords – Create password enforcement policy like using a password manager tool and not writing them on sticky notes.
• Disable USB/HDD plug – Organization should disable USB/HDD plug and try to take a safer function for the employees. It is important as the official machine can get attacked by the unknown threat or malware.
• Avoid data leakage – Organization should keep an eye over the data exfiltration. It will help to know if any data gets a leak.
• Beware of strange networks – Make employees aware of the dangers of logging in from unsecured public networks and using it.

Current scenario of Dark Web Monitoring

Dark web monitoring services have got tons of promotion in the over the most recent two years. Numerous organizations are presently offering Dark Web monitoring services, yet there’s still a broad misconception about how they work, or whether they work at all. The software doesn’t filter the whole of the dark web, as doing so is just an impossible task and neither would they be able to start taking down against taken records or licensed property. When something winds up on an underground commercial center, there’s frequently nothing you can do to keep it from being sold or abused. The Dark Web Monitoring can only screen which is publicly available. Much the same as the search engine crawlers can’t see whatever’s taken cover behind a login or paywall, and dark web scanners can’t get to whatever’s being protected from scraping software. Rather, they’re paying special attention to large information dumps containing leaked individual data like passwords and credentials.