How Businesses Can Protect Their Data by Monitoring Dark Web Activity

Considering what a big chunk of our everyday activity goes on in the digital space, monitoring dark web to make sure you are safe is as vital as ever. And when it comes to handling a business online, new specific challenges and solutions arise. So how can businesses make sure their data is protected from unwanted monitoring? Let’s explore this further in today’s article.

Understanding the Dangers of the Dark Web

The internet consists of three main parts: the surface web, the deep web, and the dark web. The surface web is what most of us use each day. That’s our search engines, various websites, social media, and so on. The deep web is that portion of the websites that aren’t indexed by any search engines for various reasons—online privacy, for example. So that’s your e-mail inbox or any private database. And then there is the dark web.

The dark web is hidden from general access and can only be found through particular software. The first thing that comes to mind in association with the dark web is usually criminal activity.

That’s exactly right. The dark web is exactly the place where stolen information, like credit card numbers, personal identities, and business information is sold to whomever is willing to pay for it. This itself makes it a pretty ominous place for anyone, especially businesses storing sensitive information.

How Dark Web Monitoring Works

So, how can you monitor what’s hidden? That’s where dark web monitoring comes in in the form of various software, platforms, and services. Dark web monitoring is generally a process of searching the dark web for mentions of data belonging to a particular person or business. This can include mentions of your company’s name, employee information, customer data, or any other sensitive information that shouldn’t be public knowledge.

Of course, doing that manually is not exactly the simplest task. According to the latest studies, more than 104,068 people reported cyber crimes in 2023 the year alone—that’s a lot of data to process. That’s where cybersecurity tools come in. Such software can identify if anything about your business is spread around on the dark web forums, marketplaces, or any other malicious area.

The goal of it all is to detect those potential threats early, so you can do something about them before they transform into major problems.

Benefits of Dark Web Monitoring for Businesses

There are plenty of benefits to dark web monitoring. For example, about 18 percent of respondents found that dark web monitoring strategies helped them learn about new vulnerabilities that were actively being targeted back in 2022.

Let’s take a closer look at what this strategy can do for businesses.

1. Detect Data Breaches Early

One of the most significant pros of dark web monitoring is the detection of data breaches. Even in cases when your data has been stolen, it wouldn’t pop up on the dark web instantly.

As you use the dark web monitoring services by expert teams like ImmuniWeb, the leak might get caught at the exact moment it appears. This will help you to react quickly and minimize the consequences as much as possible.

2. Prevent Identity Theft and Fraud

Another major advantage is preventing identity theft and fraud. In case any customer data handled by the business—names, addresses, credit card information—finds its way to the dark web, such info will be most likely with malicious intent.

Teams like ImmuniWeb which offer to monitor the dark web through their tools can help you to identify whether any customer’s data is in jeopardy, so you can take appropriate protection measures. For example, alerting your clients to change their passwords or deactivate compromised accounts altogether—better safe than sorry.

3. Protect Intellectual Property 

Intellectual property is a key asset for any business that can take on many forms. This might be product designs, trade secrets, or even lines of code in software.

Once this information falls into the wrong hands, it can easily be turned against its original owners. Dark web monitoring helps protect your IP. Those tools will let you know if any of such data has leaked to the dark web.

4. Improve the State of Your Cybersecurity

Last but not least, monitoring the dark web can help you improve your general cybersecurity situation. Being aware of potential threats and the data that could be compromised means you’ll be able to plan your defenses accordingly.

This might mean updating security protocols in time, educating employees, or investing in more advanced safety measures. Dark web monitoring arms you with the information you need to stay one step ahead of cyber threats.

Best Practices for Implementing Dark Web Monitoring

Now that we’ve gone over the main benefits, the question is how exactly should you implement dark web monitoring. Here are a few best practices to get you started:

• Include regular monitoring in your cybersecurity strategy. This means working out with your IT team to establish the required tools and processes for that. Remember, dark web monitoring isn’t a one-off activity: it needs to be done regularly to be effective.

• Use appropriate services. Not all dark web monitoring tools are the same, so it’s important to understand what exactly you need. It can be tools that alert you in real-time if data has been compromised, for example, but there are other options too. 

• Regular Updates and reviews. Cyber threats are constantly changing and evolving, so your processes for dark web monitoring have to adapt too. This means frequent reviews and updates to your monitoring strategies.

And last, don’t forget that cybersecurity is not just a matter of the IT department—it’s a matter that involves every employee in the company. Collaboration across departments, including HR, customer service, and legal teams, for example, is critical. Working together means that your business will be able to respond quickly and effectively to any upcoming threats.

Conclusions

With the right dark web monitoring strategy, you are already steps ahead of any threats targeted at your business. It’s an important preventive measure that can help you save a lot of company resources, as well as personal peace of mind.