What Is the Dark Web?
The dark web affords users total anonymity and privacy making it practically synonymous with crime. In this article, we explore the different ways you can defend your business against dark web threats.
With the dark web rapidly on the rise, even a non-technical person can hit your business with a devastating denial-of-service attack using rented botnet time!
Find out how you can protect your organization from dark web criminals by watching this short video:
What Exactly Is the Dark Web?
When most people think of the internet, a few things come to mind, for example, message boards, websites, market places, etc. In any case, this is only the surface web, otherwise called the open web. In straightforward terms, the open web is whatever you can see when you open a browser and look something up with a search engine.
The dark web isn’t too different compared to the open web. The primary contrast is that search engines can’t discover sites on the dark web, and you would need to know the precise page URL. A great example is Hidden Wiki, which, as the name implies, is essentially the shrouded version of Wikipedia.
Additionally, to access dark websites, you would require anonymizing software like Tor that disguises your IP address. Tor permits users to conceal their locations and identities from parties that can track network activities, for example, internet service providers and federal agencies. This is the main reason behind the dark web becoming a hub for all kinds of criminal activities, including buying and selling stolen credit card numbers, stolen subscription credentials, hacked bank accounts, and even software that can break into people’s PCs.
What Significance Does the Dark Web Have to Your Business? For most business decision-makers, the Darknet Market Places (DNMs) form the chief focus area on the dark web. Originally used to trade illegal substances, DNMs are currently being used to sell a wide range of unlawful items and services and have become more robust.
These so-called “dark” spaces offer the ideal platform to trade wrongfully acquired digital products, including:
- Stolen intellectual property.
- Stolen codebases.
- Stolen programs.
Because DNMs allow open, anonymous access, any malicious staff member could easily request bids for sensitive insider information from an anonymous customer base. Actually, most corporate data breaches occur along these lines. While never presenting their identity to the criminal underground, an employee with the Tor browser could sell sensitive information, access, or code on any DNM with ease. What’s worse, identifying such criminals is virtually impossible since they typically transact in Bitcoin.
How Do You Limit Your Organization’s Exposure to Dark Web Threats? To shield your organization against the countless dark web threats, you have to begin monitoring the dark web and DNMs in particular. In reality, this is often easier said than done.
However, due to their open-but-anonymous nature, it’s possible to effectively monitor DNMs, empowering you to take the relevant remedial measures.
This is what you have to do to manage dark web risks:
- Encrypt all sensitive data using an updated encryption strategy since encryption approaches quickly become obsolete and require routine updates.
- Get in touch with a trustworthy IT support company to help your team screen, recognize, and respond to dangers before they escalate. Ensure they incorporate dark web monitoring in their network security solutions.
- Screen the dark web generally and DNMs in particular for threats that could impact your organization.
- Screen employees’ devices and online activities for any access to the dark web.
- Develop a detailed response plan in case your sensitive business data shows up on the dark web. It needs to describe how you will manage customers, partners, as well as the law in the event of a breach.
Looking for Reliable Columbus IT Support to Protect Your Business From the Dark Web?
Our experienced technology experts at EasyIT are here to help your Ohio business remain safe from corporate dark web threats.
Contact us now to schedule your initial dark web consultation!
