Glossary
Dark Web
The dark web is like a hidden neighborhood on the internet that you can't find with Google. You need special software to get there, and everyone wears masks (anonymity). While some people use it for privacy, it's also where criminals sell stolen passwords, credit cards, and business data - often within hours of stealing it.
What is Dark Web?
The dark web is a part of the internet that requires special software (like Tor) to access. It's not indexed by search engines and offers anonymity to users. While it has legitimate uses, it's also where stolen data, credentials, and hacking tools are bought and sold.
Why Should You Care?
When your business data is breached, it often ends up for sale on the dark web within hours or days. Stolen employee credentials, customer databases, and financial information are traded in underground marketplaces. Monitoring the dark web for your company's data can give you early warning of a breach - sometimes before you even know you've been attacked.
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Real-World Example
A healthcare clinic's database appeared on a dark web marketplace, listed for sale at $5,000. It contained 50,000 patient records with Social Security numbers and medical histories. The clinic only discovered the breach months later when patients started reporting identity theft. Dark web monitoring would have caught this within days of the listing.
How to Protect Against Dark Web
- 1.
Sign up for dark web monitoring for your company domains
- 2.
Check Have I Been Pwned for known breaches
- 3.
Set up alerts for your company name and key employee emails
- 4.
Respond immediately to any detected exposure by resetting credentials
- 5.
Include dark web monitoring in your incident response plan
Related Terms
Data Breach, Credential Stuffing, Infostealer, Threat Intelligence
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