Although it sounds like something from a movie, the dark web is very real and normally only accessible through a Tor browser or another form of encrypted browsing software. In this guide, you’re going to learn all about dark web monitoring and why it’s important for both businesses and individuals.
What’s Dark Web Monitoring?
Firstly, the dark web isn’t accessible through a normal browser. Instead, all the websites are in a hidden network. Search engines can’t find them, and IP addresses are kept hidden for users. Unfortunately, this is where many cyber-criminals gather and sell stolen data and other information.
As the name suggests, dark web monitoring is the process of keeping track of the information passing through these hidden channels. With the right service, it will scan thousands of websites, forums, chat rooms, and private networks. Thanks to technology, capabilities for these tools are improving all the time. With humans working alongside artificial intelligence (AI) models, both businesses and individuals remain protected. If a problem does arise, the security threat is identified and resolved before too much damage occurs.
Why is Dark Web Monitoring Important?
Sadly, cyber-criminals are always active, and this is why we need to take a proactive approach when it comes to security. Criminals are attracted to the personal details of individuals whether this is a passport number, email address, medical ID number, phone number, debit card number, bank account number, or even membership and retail cards. Using ID monitoring resources like those found at https://www.welkinit.com.au/, will help you keep your identity safe and secure on the internet.
With this in mind, it’s obvious why individuals want to monitor the dark web. For one thing, a simple check can identify a data breach. If a cyber-criminal is attempting to sell your personal information, you can take action and ensure that nobody steals your identity, your money, or something else.
Likewise, businesses will also want to employ a dark web monitoring tool because it can detect data breaches. Data breaches have the potential to be costly for a business not just in fiscal terms but because of the damage they cause to reputation. As soon as customers learn of a data breach, you’ll have trouble trying to win them over again and stop them from moving their custom across to a competitor. You’re paying to recover the security of the business and you’re paying because customers are suddenly going elsewhere.
As software continually improves, you’re now able to create a search query and keep on top of the dark web. Even for websites that require membership, the software can infiltrate and perform the searches you require. If you detect a data breach, you won’t be able to go back in time or stop the data from spreading. This being said, what you can do is launch a strategy to limit the damage. Additionally, you may be able to ascertain how the breach occurred so that you can avoid future problems.
As well as information leaks, dark web monitoring also picks up on threats to assets and people. Therefore, it’s something the government performs to keep people safe in the city and country.
Summary
While the government and authorities use dark web monitoring to pick up on potential threats to the public, individuals and businesses use the process to spot data breaches and stay on top of other security threats. Thankfully, there are now some advanced tools online and they provide a valuable service for all. Especially for businesses, this is a tool that can prevent data breaches or at least minimise the damage when one does occur.
