What Every Business Needs to Know About Dark Web Monitoring
Dark web monitoring continually checks for compromised login credentials such as usernames and passwords and analyzes this information in order to assess the potential threat level posed to an organization.
Credentials that have been stolen or obtained by an unauthorized person or entity and can be used to access sensitive information or systems. This can then create the risk of data breaches, phishing attacks, malware infections, brute force attacks and other forms of cyber threat. Dark web monitoring for business focuses on two key areas of the internet which go beyond the surface web that is accessed by most people day-to-day, without any restrictions:
- The Deep Web - Any site or service that requires a username and password, for example, email accounts or social media profiles
- The Dark Web - A concealed area of the Deep Web that can only be accessed by using specialized web browsers and where users are almost impossible to trace
Dark web monitoring can uncover various types of information, including:
- Usernames and passwords
- Personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, addresses and social security numbersBusiness email addresses
- Financial information, such as credit card numbers, bank account information and other financial information
- Employee identification numbers
- Digital certificates to secure communications between employees and clients
- Enable cybercriminals to eavesdrop on confidential conversations
This type of data is critical to the effective running and management of many types of businesses. As a result, monitoring for its mis-use online is critical to early and effective threat detection and data breach protection.
The Benefits of Dark Web Monitoring for Business
The advantages of deep and dark web monitoring include:
- Identifying Leaked or Stolen Information
Dark web monitoring enables businesses to better understand the potential threat to their assets and reputation by uncovering the type of information that has been stolen or leaked and put on the deep and dark web. It ensures that companies can gain a clear picture of any form of confidential data accessed by attackers, even if they were not aware of a specific breach.
- Identifying Past or Ongoing Breaches
Dark web monitoring allows businesses to quickly find out whether they are being subjected to a data breach – or have been in the past. In the case of the former, this information will accelerate the decision-making and response process, while the latter will advance knowledge of the company’s vulnerabilities and how to address them. The insight gained helps organizations to better understand their security weaknesses and strengthen their defenses.
- Reducing the Time Taken to Discover Breaches
Another key benefit is that dark web monitoring helps organizations to reduce the amount of time between a data breach occurring and being discovered , helping to shrink the window in which threat actors can take advantage of sensitive information.
- Validating Security Tool Performance
Alongside its core function, dark web monitoring plays a key role in validating whether or not an organization’s existing security tools are functioning as intended. This allows businesses to better gauge the effectiveness of their security infrastructure and identify any aspects that need updating or changing.
- Safeguarding Against Brand Abuse
Dark web monitoring allows businesses to identify and address any threat actor activity more quickly and effectively. By searching and locating potential abuse and impersonation of their brand on the deep and dark web, companies can maintain greater control of how they are perceived and protect their intellectual property while also reducing the risk of financial harm.
A comprehensive dark web monitoring approach can help companies to maintain compliance with key industry regulations, helping them to avoid fines, litigation and reputational damage.
- Maintaining a Competitive Advantage
Taking proactive steps to monitor and address potential threats on the deep and dark web to defend their brand and business reputation can support companies’ efforts to maintain a competitive advantage.
Deploying Deep and Dark Web Monitoring: Key Steps
Dark web monitoring for business is usually deployed in three stages:
Initial Assessment
A dark web monitoring services provider should comprehensively assess an organization’s existing security posture to clearly understand its specific business vulnerabilities.
Implementation
This stage involves the integration of dark web monitoring tools with existing security systems. The vendor’s threat intelligence analysts use a combination of automated and manual data collection methods to monitor for any exposures across surface, deep and dark web sources, including ransomware shaming sites, criminal marketplaces, private forums, closed and private bin/paste sites and Tor chat platforms.
They then filter out false positives and duplicates to deliver an early warning of targeted malicious activity in the form of alerts that could be indicative of an impending, targeted attack campaign on your organization. Dark web monitoring tools work by ingesting large quantities of data and correlating it with a list of keywords to be monitored on a daily basis. This list is optimized over time to support specific monitoring objectives or risk profiles. Common keywords are likely to include:
- Corporate names
- Domain names
- Monikers
- IP addresses
- Watermarks
- Executive names
- Project names
- File hashes
Types of activity monitored includes:
- Email address and passwords exposed or sold on the dark web, hacking forums and marketplaces
- Forum chatter about vulnerabilities or offers of network access or data for sale
- Negative or derogatory comments directed at the client or client-owned brands
- Third-party data exposures
- Payment cards, personally identifiable information (PII), passports and other sensitive data posted or sold on marketplaces, shops or forums
- Phishing campaigns and event logs matching client names, email addresses or domains
- Initial access brokers selling backdoors/malware, compromised server, RDP, VPN or account credentials
- Activist/hacktivist groups discussing or targeting a client on forums and chat channels
The monitoring tools provide automated alerts in response to what they find online. These, alongside regular reporting, will ensure that organizations are able to quickly respond to any risk when their credentials, brand or other key collateral is being shared and used on the deep and dark web.
Maintenance and Updates
It is critical that the vendor ensures that monitoring tools are regularly updated and tested. This is more of an ongoing process than a one-off step, as is training relevant in-house staff on how to manage the system, and updating protocols as threats evolve.
