The dark web is the secret underworld of the Internet. Most people know little about it apart from its sinister reputation as a haven for vice and criminality. However, a basic knowledge of how the dark web works can help you and your organization to stay safe online.
What is the dark web?
Let’s start by reminding ourselves of the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web.
The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers that communicate with one another. The World Wide Web (or simply the web) is the vast array of web pages stored and accessed on this network. The web has three levels: surface, deep, and dark.
The surface web is the level most people use every day. It’s accessible to anyone using an ordinary browser like Chrome or Firefox, and it includes sites indexed by search engines like Google. The BBC, Facebook, and Amazon all live on the surface web.
The deep web encompasses sites that aren’t indexed by standard search engines. These include sites that require specific access permissions, such as your online bank accounts, confidential medical records, and subscription-only content.
The dark web is a subset of the deep web that’s intentionally hidden. You can’t access it using ordinary browsers or search engines. The most popular way to get into the dark web is the Tor network, which masks users’ IP addresses to give them anonymity.
Secrecy and anonymity make the dark web a haven for cybercriminals
Marketplaces on the dark web are like legitimate e-commerce sites, but they sell everything from drugs and weapons to targeted hacking services and stolen data. Payments are made in cryptocurrency, so they’re anonymous and hard to trace.
Cybercriminals are working around the clock to steal our data—passwords, credit card numbers, passport numbers, and more. They then package the stolen data and offer it for sale on the dark web. A study by the University of Surrey found that a single set of account credentials can sell for as little as $2.
The buyers of the data can use it to steal our identities and access our emails, bank accounts, or workplaces.
In many organizations, data breaches involving personal information can take more than 200 days to discover. That means data about you can be in the hands of cybercriminals long before anyone has even noticed it’s been stolen.
That’s why Cybercheck is here to help you and everyone in your organization to stay safe.
We go underground with the cybercriminals to help you stay safe
At Cybercheck, we’re constantly monitoring the places on the deep and dark web where cybercriminals buy and sell stolen data.
If cybercriminals are trading information about you or your organization, we see it right away and warn you immediately. That means you can change your passwords, block your cards, and stop the Cybercriminals before they make you their next victim.
