The Dark Web is not part of the World Wide Web indexed by search engines, meaning its contents are not cataloged, organized, or easy to navigate. Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari web browsers won’t allow you to access the dark web. Dark web monitoring is a technology to sift through this normally hidden underworld for leaked or disparaging corporate data.
Access to the dark web is possible through anonymizer browsers such as Tor, i2P, or FreeNet. The Navy developed Tor for the Government in the 1990s but transitioned the browser to the open-source community in 2004 and became public. All web traffic through these browsers is anonymous, encrypted, and highly untraceable. Searching for dark websites in Tor is not easy, as its goal is to “be secretive” about activities on the dark web, after all.
Most dark websites, which don’t use the .com or .net domain extension but instead use .onion, are used for illegal drug and finance activity, including money laundering and stolen credentials that can contain your usernames and passwords.
While not all data on the dark web is bad, most of it is for illicit purposes. When cybercriminals steal credentials, they often don’t deploy attacks using those individual credentials; instead, they “bundle” them with many other stolen credentials and trade them on the dark web. As a result, constant monitoring of the dark web is critical.
Regardless of the end purpose, the last thing you want to have is your credentials up for grabs on the dark web. As part of our Cyber Security services for our customers, we monitor the dark web 24×7 and alert you when we find any information matching your organization on the dark web. Rapid notification allows you to change passwords to prevent further damage.
Dark Web monitoring, with strong passwords, password managers, and Multi-Factor Authentication, allows us to assist you in safeguarding your information. Give us a call to learn more about our cybersecurity services and how your organization can benefit from the protection we bring to our customers.
Masser Technologies can help small businesses in El Paso and beyond monitor the dark web in today’s managed IT world.
