Most of the civilised world is on the Internet every day – businesses large and small, governments, educators, adults, children and, unfortunately, criminals. The Internet may seem like a world without boundaries allowing us to find just about any kind of information, learn about other cultures, conduct business across the globe and even socialize with family and friends.
Like many communities, though, the Internet has an underside: the Dark Web.
What is the Dark Web?
Contained within the Deep Web, the Dark Web is a large digital underworld that far surpasses the surface areas found in Google searches. Search engines index at least 4.5 billion websites which only scratches the surface of total websites. This leaves 99 percent of Internet information in the dark. Some experts estimate the Deep Web is 400 to 500 times larger than the surface internet.
“Dark” not only refers to hidden; it refers to the practices used by people who access the Dark Web through special software that allows users to remain anonymous and untraceable. Cybercriminals roam freely in the Dark Web dealing in stolen information from governments, businesses and individuals. And, the market is huge.
Why the Dark Web Matters to You
The Dark Web has everything for sale, for cheap from Social Security numbers and medical records to your college diploma and garage door opener code. For as little as $90, a checking account worth $1,000 can be cleaned out. Have a good credit score? Your identity could fetch as much as $1,200. Additionally, deals are steep on the digital black market where bargain hunters can acquire individual pieces of stolen identities for as little as $1 – or 10 cents apiece if purchased in bulk. Dark Web criminals are making tens of thousands of dollars.
Not surprisingly, online account credentials are a hot commodity on the Dark Web. Network user names and passwords are being sold to multiple buyers who unleash digital assaults on businesses – both small and large. U.S. businesses lost $2.9 billion in the past five years alone to cybercrime. You can defend your organization against these Dark Web dangers.
Because 30 percent of adults in the U.S. are using the same or very similar passwords for multiple online services and their work accounts, criminals only need one or two of your passwords to access multiple information-rich areas of your life, including work.
Unfortunately, user names and passwords (the most common digital credentials stolen) are all that stand between your employees and vital online services including corporate networks, social media sites, ecommerce sites and other computer-based tools. A good security practice is to use a completely different password for every service.
Protect Your Business from Dark Web Criminals
Every industry in the world has been compromised by cybercriminals. and businesses of every size have been assaulted. By 2022, cybercrime is forecast to cost the world $6 trillion per year. It’s a good idea to find out now what kind of information from your business may be for sale on the Dark Web.
Multi IT & Telephony Solutions uses many tools to protect our clients – and ourselves – from the dark forces of cybercrime. We continuously search, monitor and report on your organization’s potential presence on the Dark Web. With an immediate notification function, Multi IT & Telephony Solutions allows you to act before critical assets are used to compromise your employees, networks and data. We add Dark Web scanning services to multi-layered security defences to reduce the likelihood and impact of compromised credentials.
Let’s make sure your organization isn’t next in the headlines for compromised data or a ransomware attack. As one of Atlanta’s leading technology solutions provider, we provide a free dark web scan so you know exactly what your exposure happens to be on the Dark Web. Contact Multi IT & Telephony Solutions today or give us a call on 011 435 0450 to protect your company’s digital Identity today.