The Dark Web is a hub for criminal activity. Even if your business is legitimate, you can't ignore the Dark Web entirely. This article will explain the Dark Web and the benefits of monitoring its thousands of pages.

The US government created the Dark Web in the mid-1990s for spies to exchange information. It is still visited today by journalists and law enforcement agencies. People in countries prohibiting open communication might also use the Dark Web.

Yet the Dark Web is also home to illegal activity. This is where users can find weapons, child pornography, and counterfeit money. Criminals can also access malware, leaked data, and stolen information (including access credentials).

Bad actors like the Dark Web because it isn’t something you can find on your typical browser. The Dark Web is hidden from standard search engines, and you need specific software, configurations, or authorization to access it. Users also hide their IP addresses and use encryption to mask their identities.

Why Monitor the Dark Web?

There's a real threat of your business suffering cyber assault. This could result in brand damage, significant financial losses, and intellectual property theft. If your business isn’t monitoring the Dark Web, you won’t know what is on there that could harm your business.

Dark Web monitoring can help you find:

• compromised usernames and passwords;
• proprietary company information available online;
• stolen customer lists;
• evidence of employee identity theft.

With Dark Web monitoring, you can limit damage to your bottom line and brand reputation. Surveillance can also help you find weaknesses and plan to prevent future attacks.

How Does Dark Web Monitoring Work?

Dark Web monitoring checks chat rooms, blogs, forums, private networks, and other sites that criminals visit. Using human and artificial intelligence, scans search for stolen customer lists or data, staff login passwords, and business email domains and IP addresses. You're notified if there are any issues. Awareness can reduce the time it takes to discover a breach and address weaknesses.

Protecting Your Business from the Dark Web

Monitoring is the only way to shore up your cybersecurity. Obviously, it’s better if the scans find nothing from your business. So, it’s a good idea to strengthen your cyber hygiene. You can do so by:

• educating employees about secure passwords and how to spot a phishing scam;
• investing in password managers and antivirus and anti-malware software;
• keeping all hardware and software up to date.

Monitoring the Dark Web is not something every business can handle solo. Even though the Dark web is far smaller than the Web you’re on every day, there are thousands of pages to scan.

Our experts can boost your cybersecurity protections and set up Dark Web monitoring. Contact our IT experts today at:

• For businesses: Visit SD Solutions
• For individual IT Support needs: Visit ITx