Monitoring the Dark Web: What You Need to Know

The dark web is a part of the internet that is intentionally hidden and is inaccessible through standard web browsers. It is often associated with illegal activities, making it a breeding ground for cybercrime. As a result, monitoring the dark web has become increasingly important for businesses and individuals looking to protect themselves from potential threats.

Credential Protection

What is the Dark Web?

The dark web is a collection of websites that are not indexed by search engines and are only accessible through specialized software, such as the Tor browser. It is often used for illegal activities, such as buying and selling drugs, weapons, and stolen data. However, not all activity on the dark web is illegal. There are also websites that are used for legitimate purposes, such as whistleblowing and political activism.

Why Monitor the Dark Web?

Protect Your Data Wherever It Lives

Identity Guard is a reputable security company with great technology and a very low pricing tier. It’s an excellent option for anyone who only wants Dark Web monitoring and isn’t willing to pay for more comprehensive features. Identity Guard has been around for decades and has protected over 38 million individuals from identity theft and fraud. Learn what a digital risk protection solution is and how it can help you be better prepared by understanding who is targeting you, what they’re after, and how they plan to compromise you. The Norton and LifeLock Brands are part of Gen. LifeLock identity theft protection is not available in all countries.

Monitoring the dark web can help businesses and individuals protect themselves from potential threats. For example, by monitoring the dark web, you can:

How IdentityIQ Can Help Protect Your Personal Information

• Identify and mitigate data breaches: If your company’s data has been stolen and is being sold on the dark web, you can take steps to mitigate the damage and prevent further breaches.
• Detect and prevent cyber attacks: By monitoring the dark web, you can detect and prevent cyber attacks before they happen. For example, if you see someone discussing a planned attack on your company, you can take steps to protect yourself.
• Protect your reputation: If negative information about your company is being spread on the dark web, you can take steps to protect your reputation and address the issue.

Identify credential compromise and exposed sensitive technical documents or intellectual property. Flare is one of the only vendors in Threat Exposure Management (TEM) that provides a full list of the specific dark web marketplaces, forums, and channels that we collect from. Flare cuts down dark web investigation times by up to 95%, providing analysts an easy to use platform that automatically provides context-rich events & simple pivots. Aura also protects you in the worst-case scenario — when scammers and hackers have your personal information.

How to Monitor the Dark Web

Monitoring the dark web can be challenging, as it is not indexed by search engines and is only accessible through specialized software. However, there are a few ways to monitor the dark web:

The reality is that they will check the most publicly available databases (with 8+ billion entries), which typically holds old data, commonly an accumulation of previous breach data sets. It is less likely that they will scan the forums that are only accessible by trusted members and highly unlikely they perform a deep web scan where peer-to-peer trading occurs. So, if you plan to use them, keep in mind they will monitor and report on publicly available information; they do not delete it. 1Password Watchtower sifts through any reported data breach to see if your information has been compromised and alerts you directly if anything comes up. That way, you can change the affected password before any cybercriminal has the chance to use it. The dark web also refers to sections of the internet that are not indexed by traditional search engines.

• Use dark web monitoring tools: There are a number of tools and services that can help you monitor the dark web. These tools can alert you to any mentions of your company or your data on the dark web.
• Hire a dark web monitoring service: There are also a number of companies that specialize in monitoring the dark web. These companies can provide you with regular reports and alerts about any potential threats.
• Manually search the dark web: If you have the necessary software and knowledge, you can manually search the dark web for any mentions of your company or your data.

• Dark Web Threat Intelligence helps you monitor breached data or mentionings of your organisation in the Deep- and Dark Web.
• It is essential to stay vigilant in today’s rapidly-evolving threat landscape and take a proactive approach towards protecting sensitive business information.
• Cybersquatted or typosquatted domains serve a good example of such assets that aim to steal your website visitors and impersonate your brand.
• You might not even know that your organization has been hacked, but your company and employee details could end up for sale.

FAQs

What is the difference between the deep web and the dark web?

The deep web is the part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines, but is still accessible through standard web browsers. The dark web, on the other hand, is a collection of websites that are intentionally hidden and are only accessible through specialized software.

Is it illegal to access the dark web?

Dark web monitoring offers more than just a way to check for leaked credentials or data; it can also monitor any activity or discussion that involves an organization. This could involve posts and updates that state the business is currently the target of a cyber attack or if it has already been subject to a breach. Monitoring can also extend to the supply chain or partners of a business that may be vulnerable to a cyber attack.

No, it is not illegal to access the dark web. However, many of the activities that take place on the dark web are illegal, and accessing the dark web can put you at risk of being involved in illegal activities.

Can I use a regular web browser to access the dark web?

CyberBlindspot is focused on intelligence that directly references your corporate assets. CyberBlindspot expands on the indicators of compromise (IOC) concept to expose indicators of warning or indicators of attack, allowing you to identify areas of concern to your network even more proactively. Experian offers Dark Web Surveillance through its IdentityWorks℠ Plus and IdentityWorks Premium products.

No, you cannot use a regular web browser to access the dark web. You will need to use specialized software, such as the Tor browser.

Is it safe to monitor the dark web?

Monitoring the dark web can be risky, as it is often associated with illegal activities. However, if you take the necessary precautions, such as using a virtual private network (VPN) and not sharing any personal information, you can minimize the risks.