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Discover the Dangers of the Dark Web
/in Blog, Security /by Chris HigginsIt’s too late for a Halloween story, but year-round, it’s the things in the dark that scare us. This is true in the online world as much as the real world.
The Dark Web Defined
The web lets us instantaneously access information and resources all around the world by typing a URL into a browser, but there’s a part of the web that’s not easily accessible. URLs that aren’t known to the search engines are called the deep web, and much of that is innocuous, such as pages under development that aren’t yet released to the public. A small corner of the deep web is the more dangerous dark web, where anonymity is preserved and criminality thrives.
The dark web is a vibrant marketplace, filled with stolen data (account numbers, social security numbers, passwords, and other personal information) and tools for hacking. When a data breach occurs, it’s often made possible by malware sold on the dark web, and the stolen data often ends up for sale there, as well. For all the value this data has to its owners, there’s so much of it that it’s cheap for criminals to buy: according to Experian, social security numbers sell for just one dollar.
Dark Web Dangers for Business
As both the source of hacking tools and the destination for stolen data, the dark web is a threat to data security. The dark web is also an inspirational source for criminals. There are those hacking kits that are available, plus guides on how to deploy malware and ransomware, and how to open fraudulent accounts. Wannabe criminals who don’t have their own technical skills can rent a botnet to execute a DDoS attack or buy admin credentials to gain access to a company’s systems.
It can be used in other ways to harm businesses, too. There are sites that aggregate personal information—not just your accounts but also your social media—that can be used to threaten executives.
Learn more in What is the Dark Web and Why Should We Care?
Shine Light into the Dark Web
For businesses to protect themselves against the dark web’s dangers, the first step is to know when the dark web is brushing up against them. Monitoring tools allow companies to detect if any data stolen during a breach has been made available on dark web sites. You can make sure the data is yours through watermarking or fingerprinting.
In addition to monitoring for data from your business, you should also monitor the dark web for references to your business, including names of employees. Monitor for references to specific software and hardware you use, as that chatter can reveal vulnerabilities and potential attacks.
Beyond monitoring, make sure you have a strong cybersecurity process in place. Ensure patches are applied quickly, firewall rules are correct, and consider intrusion detection and data loss prevention software to help prevent theft of data. Make sure your employees are trained to detect phishing emails and to use safe computing practices such as strong passwords.
CCS Technology Group provides security services to help businesses against the dangers of the dark web. Get a dark web scan to learn how to stay safe at Halloween and year round. What you don’t know will hurt you. A Dark Web Scan can uncover if your data is for sale, and tell you if your personal or business data may be at risk.
Additional Cybersecurity Resources
Create An Information Security Culture to Protect Your Data
6 Ways to Keep Your Cloud Secure
The cybersecurity employee training checklist
Choose the Right Backup Strategy to Meet Time and Space Requirements
/in Blog, Business Continuity /by Chris HigginsThere are multiple reasons businesses need to backup their data. You need the ability to restore data if it gets lost or corrupted, or if a disaster requires shifting processing to an alternate site. Compliance policies may require retaining copies of data for a lengthy period of time. Analytics projects may need years’ worth of history, and new software projects often require copies of production data for development and testing.
Given all these reasons for making backups, implementing an effective backup process is a critical IT function.
Types of Backups
All critical systems need to be backed up daily, but not every piece of data needs to be backed up every day. There are different kinds of backups that allow the process to run more efficiently.
Once you’ve made a full backup, you can use either differential or incremental backups to copy only the changed data. This makes the backup process faster and requires less storage space. However, it makes the recovery process longer, as recovering means first restoring the full backup and then applying the changes on top of that.
Creating a synthetic full backup every week or month allows you to use incremental backups and shorten the recovery process. On a regular schedule, the incremental changes are applied to the last full backup. This effectively creates a current full backup that can be restored rapidly.
Backup Capabilities
In addition to the different types of backups described above, there are some backup features that can help speed recovery in specific scenarios.
With all these options, choosing an appropriate backup strategy requires careful consideration. Contact CCS Technology Group to develop and implement a backup solution that protects your data and your business.
Additional Backup Resources
Effective Backups Need to Address These Challenges
The Differences Between Backups, Disaster Recovery, and Archiving Matter
Understand the Different Cloud Options for Your Backup and Disaster Recovery Strategy
What is the Dark Web and Why Should We Care?
/in Blog, Security /by Chris HigginsYou’re happily humming along on the internet, thinking you’ve got a pretty good understanding. You can navigate your way around Google, Facebook, Amazon, and news sites. You’re actually only visiting four percent of the internet. There’s a whole world hiding beyond these safe surface-level sites, known as the Dark Web and it’s a much less hospitable place.
What exactly is the Dark Web?
The Dark Web is a conglomeration of websites that cannot be found on search engines or accessed via traditional web browsers because their location and identity is hidden through encryption tools such as TOR. TOR was originally created to protect military communication but now has a much broader utilization for both Dark Web purposes and highly secure communication. You typically have to access Dark Web sites utilizing TOR.
People create sites on the Dark Web in order to hide where they’re operating from, as well as to remain anonymous (TOR hides all IP information, identifying information, as well as data transfers). Over half of the sites on the Dark Web are used for criminal activities.
Why Do People Use the Dark Web?
One of the most prevalent uses of the Dark Web is buying and selling illegal goods, such as recreational drugs, weapons, fake identities, and organs. The proliferation of cryptocurrencies—like Bitcoin—has facilitated these sales. People living within totalitarian societies that restrict communication also take to the Dark Web to share their thoughts freely.
The most dangerous use of the Dark Web for businesses is the exchange of credentials (usernames and passwords) and identities. An individual’s stolen credentials can typically be sold on the Dark Web for as low as $1. Hackers utilize these purchased credentials to:
What can you do about it?
The average citizen will never have a reason to access the Dark Web, but their credentials could easily be floating around, endangering their offline livelihoods. Once your credentials are released on the Dark Web, there is precious little you can do to have them removed. However, you should, at the very least, know when you’ve been compromised so that you can immediately act, like changing your passwords and activating two-factor authentication.
We recommend utilizing a full Dark Web monitoring service that alerts you if credentials appear on the Dark Web. These services constantly scan the Dark Web for your information and alert you whenever something suspicious appears. These alerts don’t necessarily mean a breach has occurred, but they are very good heads up that something bad may be coming. You can then create a plan of attack before any damage is done. Granted, there will be your fair share of false positives, but we firmly believe in operating in the better safe than sorry camp.
How should you get started with Dark Web monitoring?
Our team can run a preliminary scan of your domain revealing the likely breaches in the last 36 months. We’ll then review that report with you and come up with a plan of action to alleviate any major dangers. Click here to request a free dark web scan.
Or learn more in our other article Discover the Dangers of the Dark Web.
Additional Dark Web Resourcs:
What is the Dark Web & How to Access it
Battling the dark WEB
What is the dark web? How to access it and what you’ll find
Dark web data monitoring: 6 questions to ask