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Dark Web – What it is & How Does
it Work?
 While the name makes us think of dark alleys in dangerous
neighborhoods, the Dark Web is quite simply an anonymous
communications platform on the Internet. And, according to the
Dark Web specialists from Secmon1, it was invented by the US
military as a security exercise.
 This is a perfect example of how technology that was intended
to be used for good (to test if the scenario is possible) can be
turned to the dark side
Introduction
Dark Web What it is & How Does it Work
 The dark web is mostly used for illegal activities such as fraud
(selling credit card details, personal information for identity
theft or company data), drug dealing (check out the Silk Road
story), and more.
 Here, you can also find information stolen from corporations
and organizations (by hackers) and published for anyone to
see. In these scenarios, the hackers consider that the leaked
data should be publicly accessible, as a way to fight for a just
cause or right a wrong.
What it’s used for?
 The Dark Web as a whole is not that much more different than
the internet we know. However, there are some things that
would throw off a regular user (at least at first).
 For instance, these sites are not indexed by a search engine. In
fact, they do everything possible to avoid this. In addition, the
URL structure is different as all the domain extensions are
replaced with .onion and all the domain names are just a string
of random text.
How Does it Look Like?
 The Dark Web is festering with illegal online activities, but most
of them are left to the proper authorities. However, most
companies that ever went through a data breach, worry that
their data is publicly available somewhere online.
How To Protect Your Interests?
 In short, cybercriminals will get anything they can get their
hands on. This includes all sorts of files (word, excel, pdfs,
accounting files), CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
data, and more.
 A recent example is the Australian Toll breach where personal
employee information, customers, financial information ended
up on the Dark Web.
What Data are Cybercriminals after?
 While there is no one sure way to keep your company’s data safe, there are
several steps every company should take to increase protection:
 Know where your sensitive data is stored:
 Is it in the cloud, is it on any computers or servers at the office?
 Reduce your sensitive data footprint:
 Is it easy to manage the security for all the locations of where the sensitive data is
stored?
 Does all the sensitive data need to be accessible, can we archive it and take it
offline in a secure location (e.g put it on an external hard drive and store it in a
safe)?
 Automate the classification of your data
 Ensure sensitive data is classified and stored in safe and secure locations
 Automate remediation of data where it is saved to less controlled parts of your
network
How to Stay Safe
 Apply the Essential 8: Security Recommendations from The
Australian Government to ensure the IT security of your
computers and servers are very strong
 Apply DLP (Data Loss Prevention) in your cloud applications
like Google Workspace or Office 365 – this can prevent sensitive
data from incorrectly or maliciously being sent outside the
organization.
Onsite Helper’s recommendation to
reduce vulnerability
Contact US
https://onsitehelper.com/

More Related Content

Dark Web What it is & How Does it Work

  • 1. Dark Web – What it is & How Does it Work?
  • 2.  While the name makes us think of dark alleys in dangerous neighborhoods, the Dark Web is quite simply an anonymous communications platform on the Internet. And, according to the Dark Web specialists from Secmon1, it was invented by the US military as a security exercise.  This is a perfect example of how technology that was intended to be used for good (to test if the scenario is possible) can be turned to the dark side Introduction
  • 4.  The dark web is mostly used for illegal activities such as fraud (selling credit card details, personal information for identity theft or company data), drug dealing (check out the Silk Road story), and more.  Here, you can also find information stolen from corporations and organizations (by hackers) and published for anyone to see. In these scenarios, the hackers consider that the leaked data should be publicly accessible, as a way to fight for a just cause or right a wrong. What it’s used for?
  • 5.  The Dark Web as a whole is not that much more different than the internet we know. However, there are some things that would throw off a regular user (at least at first).  For instance, these sites are not indexed by a search engine. In fact, they do everything possible to avoid this. In addition, the URL structure is different as all the domain extensions are replaced with .onion and all the domain names are just a string of random text. How Does it Look Like?
  • 6.  The Dark Web is festering with illegal online activities, but most of them are left to the proper authorities. However, most companies that ever went through a data breach, worry that their data is publicly available somewhere online. How To Protect Your Interests?
  • 7.  In short, cybercriminals will get anything they can get their hands on. This includes all sorts of files (word, excel, pdfs, accounting files), CRM (Customer Relationship Management) data, and more.  A recent example is the Australian Toll breach where personal employee information, customers, financial information ended up on the Dark Web. What Data are Cybercriminals after?
  • 8.  While there is no one sure way to keep your company’s data safe, there are several steps every company should take to increase protection:  Know where your sensitive data is stored:  Is it in the cloud, is it on any computers or servers at the office?  Reduce your sensitive data footprint:  Is it easy to manage the security for all the locations of where the sensitive data is stored?  Does all the sensitive data need to be accessible, can we archive it and take it offline in a secure location (e.g put it on an external hard drive and store it in a safe)?  Automate the classification of your data  Ensure sensitive data is classified and stored in safe and secure locations  Automate remediation of data where it is saved to less controlled parts of your network How to Stay Safe
  • 9.  Apply the Essential 8: Security Recommendations from The Australian Government to ensure the IT security of your computers and servers are very strong  Apply DLP (Data Loss Prevention) in your cloud applications like Google Workspace or Office 365 – this can prevent sensitive data from incorrectly or maliciously being sent outside the organization. Onsite Helper’s recommendation to reduce vulnerability