The internet has transformed the way we live. From getting directions to the mall and having groceries home delivered to making information about anything and everything readily available, it has made life so much more convenient.
However, there are always two sides to a coin. As the number of remote workers increased during the COVID pandemic, so did the number of illegal online activities. Email scams surged by as much as 667% in just the month of March!
What Is The Dark Web And Why Is It Dangerous?
The dark web, the playground for online criminals hiding behind anonymity prey on organizations as well as individuals to forge identities, steal payment details, hack personal information and more. People with criminal intent can buy and sell all kinds of information, goods and services on the dark web. Some of the ways it threatens your safety are:
Deepfake Imagery
Identity theft is one of the most common online safety issues. 40% of all online consumers have been victims of identity theft. On the dark web, identity thieves can go a step further to steal the way you look completely and use deepfake imagery for malicious purposes. They can use not secure data to create realistic still images and videos imitating your look, voice, mannerisms, etc.
Deepfake victims may be depicted performing activities they never performed, such as changing account authorization details, transferring funds, etc or they could be ransomed for being put in compromising situations. The use of deepfakes in revenge pornography against women is a global concern.
Voice Clones
Just as they morph images, deepfake technology can also be used to edit audio files and create voice clones. In 2019, a German company was ransomed into paying almost 200,000 when their CEO’s voice was cloned to make urgent money transfer demands. With voice-activated smart devices and accounts a reality of today’s world, having your voice fall into the wrong hands can be disastrous.
Dark Web Marketplaces
The difference between www.amazn.com and www.amazon.com may seem minuscule, but the effects of shopping on the former can be terrible. It’s not just that you won’t get the product you ordered, and you’ve lost the money spent; engaging with dark web marketplaces like this also put you at risk of losing personal information.
You’ve shared your name, address, email, phone number, payment details, etc. – information that can be easily used by them to carry out malicious attacks. The rise of bitcoin currency has further increased the anonymity available to such fraudsters.
Protecting Yourself On The Dark Web
You need to be constantly vigilant to protect your data from ending up on the dark web. All applications and networks must have a safe IP address and must comply with the latest cybersecurity practices. In addition, some of the steps you can take to stay secure are:
Maintain Backups
There were 52 million data breaches in the second quarter of 2022. To minimize the impact of such data loss, you need a backup. A remote, cloud-based backup is ideal. This makes it harder for hackers to find and ensures that you have access to necessary information even if the central server is compromised. Once a system has been put in place, the most recent, comprehensive data sets must be backed up at regular intervals.
Maintain A High-Quality Database
One of the ways hackers gain access to your database and take the data to the dark web is by impersonating someone else. To protect yourself from such attacks, you must use a data verification service to verify and validate all data entering your system. Also, there should be no duplicates.
For this, all data must be formatted in the same way. For example, all customer records must have a first and last name. Else, you may have two records for the same individual stored as “John” and “John Smith” and a fraudster may attempt to hack your system by creating a third record by the name of “John N. Smith”.
Monitor The Dark Web
Access to the dark web is not limited to fraudsters. Anyone can access the dark web. While there is no risk of facing legal trouble for doing so, if you do not encrypt your credentials, you may risk losing your information. That said, you can use many dark web monitoring tools to keep an eye out for missing or stolen data.
These tools also help you stay aware of the ways your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as social security numbers, social media logins, credit card information, or biometric details may be being misused. Such proactive measures will prepare you better for potentially malicious dark web attacks.
Use Identity Monitoring Services
There is a limit to how much you can manually track your web applications. All your personal and business data – login ids, passwords, bank account numbers, street addresses, etc. can be sold for a price on the dark web.
A better choice would be to use an identity theft monitoring service that regularly reviews these web applications for suspicious activities. It could also provide alerts with white glove assistance and restoration to keep your information safe. What’s more, it reduces the risk of having your business’s reputation associated with social fraud.
Keep An Eye On Security Trends
Stay one step ahead of security threats by keeping an eye on cyber attacks on businesses similar to yours. Analyzing such attacks makes it easier to identify patterns in fraud activities before it affects you.
For example, a competitor may talk about how a sudden spike in canceled contracts was linked to suspicious activity. This information empowers you to take the necessary steps to protect your business from similar attacks.
In Conclusion
Data breaches and theft can affect businesses in all industries. As technology moves ahead, so do the avenues available to use artificial intelligence to exploit data from business networks. Hence, taking advanced security precautions and being vigilant about all online activities is essential.