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What is the Dark Web?
The internet is broken up into 2 main areas, the Clear Web, and the Deep Web.
The clear web is made up of all the publicly available sites we all know so well, such as Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc, etc.
The deep web is made up of all the other sites, secured from public access, such as online banking, webmail platforms, business intranets, and so on.
The deep web is not indexed by Search Engines, so these pages, which in fact account for most of the internet, will not appear in any Google search results.
Then there is the Dark Web, a small part of the deep web that has hidden IP addresses, and requires special software to access it, the most commonly known of which is The Onion Router (TOR).
On its good side, the anonymity provided by the dark web enables safe communication and has been used by human rights activists and whistle-blowers around the world as well as by government organisations to communicate securely with their agents abroad.
However, it is most widely known as being a haven for cyber-criminals and illicit activity. That same anonymity is what makes the dark web so appealing to fraudsters who can operate there without the threat of detection to commit a slew of crimes, including identity theft.
What is Dark Web Monitoring?
Also known as cyber-monitoring, dark web monitoring is a service that scours the depths of the dark web for items of information that should not be publicly available, both personal and corporate.
If something is discovered — say, your social security number, personal or business banking information or login credentials— then you will receive an alert.
Dark web monitoring uses technologies to search areas of the dark web where stolen information is commonly sold, such as…
- Web pages
- Peer-to-peer sharing networks
- Forums and chat rooms
- Blogs
- Malware samples
- Social media feeds
- Web services and file transmissions
What can Dark Web Monitoring do for you?
There are a lot of false assumptions swirling around about what dark monitoring does. Some of this is due to the mystique of the dark web, and some are based on a simple misunderstanding of how monitoring services work.
Once data surfaces on the dark web’s underground marketplace, nothing can stop it from being sold or used. It is also impossible to remove your information from the dark web. This is not the purpose nor the goal of dark web monitoring.
However, knowing that your personal or company information has appeared on the dark web allows you to take steps to protect yourself or your business.
For example, if you receive an alert that your company credit card number was discovered, you can contact your credit card company to protect yourself against future fraudulent transactions and to request a new number.
Knowledge is power, as they say, and dark web monitoring gives you the opportunity for action and damage control.
Want more advice?
If you would like more advice on Dark Web Monitoring for your business, get in touch…
- Call Supreme Systems on 0121 309 0126
- Email us at sales@supremesystems.co.uk
- Visit https://www.supremesystems.co.uk/
- Follow Supreme Systems at https://www.linkedin.com/company/supremesystems/
- Follow Julian at https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianbrettle/
About the author…
Julian has over 20 years of experience as a technical salesperson for IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and likes nothing more than a cup of coffee and a chat about how to cure your IT headaches.
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Supreme Systems is an information technology company established since 2008.
Leading IT Services provider and Cloud solutions for businesses in West Midlands.
Suite C, Aqueous 3, Euro Innovation Centre, Aston Cross Business Centre, 50 Rocky Lane, B6 5RQ