The dark web is a sales hub for stolen data, primarily account logins, personal information, credit card details, and email addresses. Stolen business data leads to targeted attacks, ransomware attacks, data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage.

While business owners and executives focus on innovation and growth, sensitive company information, from employee credentials and customer information to proprietary documents, could already be exposed and circulated undetected on the Dark Web. How do you protect your business? Dark Web scanning services.

What are Dark Web Scanning Services for Business? 

Constant scanning is performed to monitor and
find stolen credentials and personally identifiable information (PII) on the Dark Web. The monitoring focuses on cyber threats that may impact the business by looking at top-level email domains.

Business professionals are then notified of the risk, so they are empowered to change passwords, deactivate unused accounts, review account settings, and enable multifactor authentication (MFA).

Is your business in imminent danger? Yes.

And here are a few statistics that support that fact.

Stolen Credentials Purchased on the Dark Web Drive Costly Business Breaches

• Credential compromise remains the leading method cybercriminals use to access business data. Verizon DBIR 2024 states that 31% of data breaches in the last ten years involved stolen credentials.
  
  
• The Dark Web acts as a resource hub and plays a critical role in planning ransomware attacks. Nearly 80% of ransomware attacks leverage stolen credentials sourced from Dark Web forums and marketplaces.

• The Dark Web provides malicious insiders with an anonymous way to sell stolen data. Data breaches initiated by malicious insiders cost an average of $5.07 million, which is substantially higher than those caused by other factors.

The Dark Web: Hidden Threats to Your Business

Organizations in Omaha and Lincoln face a direct threat from the Dark Web, as it serves as a haven for illicit activities. Here are specific threats:

1. Financial Account Information - Stolen credit card and bank account information abound on the Dark Web. All the details are there, including CVV number, card number, and the expiration date for credit cards. Likewise, all the necessary bank account information and/or login credentials to access online bank accounts are for sale. 
2. Intellectual Property (IP) Theft - The Dark Web serves as a marketplace for compromised proprietary codes, product designs, trade secrets, and confidential business strategies.
3. Network Access - The most common types of network access found on the Dark Web are VPN credentials, RDP access, and now, cloud platform access. Network access is used to deploy ransomware, steal data, and commit financial fraud.
4. Strategy and Planning - Dark Web forums serve as a discussion area for criminals to coordinate attacks, share exploits targeting specific vulnerabilities, and recruit insiders. 

Is Your Business on the Dark Web?

Without Dark Web scanning and monitoring, you may never know your business-critical information is there until one of the following occurs:

• Third-party breaches by vendors, suppliers, and partners who have suffered a data breach themselves

• Phishing and malware attacks will occur when cybercriminals get a hold of business user credentials. They will then harvest more credentials or steal sensitive data and files.

• Accidental exposure: Misconfigured cloud storage, databases, or code repositories can leak data that ends up on Dark Web markets.

• Insider threats: Disgruntled employees or those compromised by external actors may deliberately steal and sell data.

Protect your Business from the Dark Web

Dark Web monitoring tools identify compromised data and credentials before threat actors can exploit them. Then you can change your credentials, close accounts, or implement MFA. Your business will also want to do the following:

1. Use Secure Passwords. Mandate strong and unique passwords for accounts and systems. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for privileged access and email is essential.
2. Invest in a password manager to make it easy for employees with numerous accounts and passwords to store them securely.
3. Implement employee training to educate staff on secure password practices, phishing, ransomware, social engineering, and how to report suspicious activities.
4. Assess vendor risks and mitigate them. First, understand the potential risks, then implement security measures, and establish contingency plans.

How Does Dark Web Scanning Work?

Businesses can anticipate early warning signs of data breaches and actionable insights by leveraging Dark Web scanning to uncover stolen or leaked information across hidden corners of the internet. The question is, how does Dark Web scanning work? It scans the hidden corners of the Internet for your business-related information.

• Dark Web scanning service providers use automated tools and human analysts to continuously scour Dark Web marketplaces, private networks, chat rooms, forums, and paste sites.
  
  
• They look for specific identifiers such as company domain names, email addresses, customer email lists, key employee names, internal IP addresses, bank account details, confidential document file names, and mentions of your brand in attack planning discussions and forums.
  
  
• They utilize advanced technologies, such as crawling, NLP, and data fingerprinting techniques, to identify relevant information amidst massive amounts of illicit data.

Dark Web Monitoring: Be Vigilant

Dark Web monitoring services offer continuous protection by providing the following:

• Ongoing surveillance: continuous scanning 24x7x365.
• Automated alerts: Get real-time alerts regarding what was found and where, and the potential risk of the compromised data.
• Context and Threat Intelligence: Gain valuable insights into whether it is part of a larger breach or if the data is being actively sold or discussed for an attack. It helps prioritize your response.
• Reporting: Regular reports help organizations understand their overall exposure risk level. 
    

Frequently Asked Questions About the Dark Web

Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about the Dark Web that businesses should be aware of when it comes to risks and monitoring:

Is my business really at risk on the Dark Web?

Yes, every organization is at risk because confidential data may be circulated on the Dark Web from third-party breaches, phishing, or insider threats.

What business information is for sale on the Dark Web?

Valuable business information is regularly sold on the Dark Web, including: stolen employee credentials, customer data, intellectual property, compromised network access, and internal documents.

How do I know if my organization's information is available on the Dark Web?

Dark Web scanning and monitoring help organizations determine what information is located there. These services continuously search the Dark Web and other parts of the internet for business data.

How do I protect my business from the Dark Web?

Implement deep web monitoring, enforce complex passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA), patch vulnerable systems, train employees continually, and have a proactive incident response plan to protect your business.

Do I need a long-term strategy to protect my organization from the Dark Web?

Dark Web threats emerge unannounced and are constant. Organizations require continuous monitoring, security improvements, and strategy adaptations over time to remain protected from Dark Web threats.

Be certain to formulate an incident response plan that enables your organization to take specific actions in the event of a cyber attack or data breach.

Dark Web Threats are Hidden and Dangerous

No organization can afford to ignore them. 

Partner with an IT managed service provider in Omaha and Lincoln, NE, that has the expertise to develop a tailored security plan that addresses emerging threats, your specific risks, business technology, and growth strategies. Contact us today!