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The Dark Web and How It’s a Potential Threat to Your Business

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13 September 2022

While working as a business, you need to protect your data from several online threats like the dark web. Although the dark web is something that’s often mentioned by the general public as a place for criminal activities, many people don’t know much about it.
It’s important to learn about the dark web and how it can pose a threat to your business security, in order to understand how to protect your personal information. To help you out, we’ve gone in-depth about the dark web and how we can help you secure your data from it. 
Let’s get started!

What is the Dark Web?

The dark web is often considered the lowest point of the web iceberg. This iceberg is divided into three parts: surface web, deep web, and dark web. 
The surface web is what you regularly check and is easily accessible to everyone with internet access. The deep web is hidden behind a paywall or requires authorisation to access like your online bank account. 
On the other hand, the dark web is only accessible to people that use your specialised browsers like Tor or i2b. This part of the internet has multiple layers of encrypted data that keep the user’s identity hidden. As a result, you need to keep your internet secure. 
You can’t find this space through normal search engines as they can’t reach this area of the internet. While there are legitimate users on the dark web, it’s often dominated by traders that sell or purchase illegal items and stolen data. 

How Can the Dark Web Affect Your Business?

If your business data falls in the hands of dark web users, which can be through malware attacks or the hacking of your system, they can sell your data to anyone. 
This may not only cause financial losses but damage your business reputation too. On top of that, if you don’t invest in Redpalm’s cyber security services, you may not even realise that your confidential data is being traded on the dark web until it’s too late.
Here’s some of the sensitive data that can be sold on the dark web: 

Login Credentials

This is the most common data sold on the dark web. Attackers with login data and passwords will sell it to your rivals or random buyers. These people can use this data to act as an employee or access other accounts with the same passwords.
You need to invest in a robust cybersecurity plan to ensure that you keep your login credentials secure. 

Financial Records

People can use your financial data for money laundering. As a result, businesses lose access to their finances and may have to cooperate with the attackers. 
Users with this data can also use this data for identity theft and carry out phishing email attacks against your employees. 

Credit Card Information

Business credit card information is a popular commodity on the dark web. This is because they don’t require any additional effort to use and can be used from anywhere. 
While individuals will have to directly pay the price of the stolen credit cards, businesses might lose the trust of their customers in terms of security. 

How to Keep Your Business Safe Against the Dark Web

Fortunately, there are several ways you can protect your data from the attackers that use the dark web. Here are some ways your business can keep itself secure: 

  • Educate your employees about the risk of sharing business information with the public
  • Be cautious about keeping your information protected from ex-employees
  • Keep limited access to sensitive information
  • Update your passwords regularly and avoid using them again
  • Invest in a trusted managed IT service provider like Redpalm

Contact Redpalm for Cyber Security Services to Keep Your Data Protected!

Now that you’re aware of the dangers of the dark web to businesses, it’s time to keep your company secure by investing in Redpalm. We offer secure cyber security services to businesses, which include dark web monitoring. 
This means that we scan through the dark web to find any potential leaks of your data, ensuring your business isn’t under threat of attackers. On top of that we offer hybrid IT services, business continuity & disaster recovery, and more!
To learn more about our services, you can visit our homepage or contact us now!

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