The dark web is an extremely attractive gathering place for cybercriminals. Its anonymous, decentralized, and fully functional nature makes transactions, connections, and the flow of information difficult to track, at times jeopardizing the financial and physical security of companies, customers, employees, markets, and whole populations.

The good news is, even if a criminal network operates solely on the dark web, there’s a chance they leave digital footprints behind. This is where dark web monitoring services come in.

What is Dark Web Monitoring?
Dark web monitoring is the process of continuously searching a variety of places on the dark web to identify potential threats to a person, business, government, or other entity. Dark web monitoring for business, for example, can help with early detection of planned or active information leaks, e.g. credentials, refunds, customer data, financial data, trade secrets; and early detection of attacks, including malware, DDoS, and botnets. If not identified, such leaks and attacks can lead to millions of dollars in losses, a bad reputation, and even the closing of business.

Dark web monitoring companies such as Cobwebs Technologies offer AI-powered deep and dark web monitoring solutions that know exactly how to scan the dark web, identify relevant activity, and generate an alert in case of a threat.

What is a dark web alert?
Dark web security monitoring solutions search for information continuously at all the corners of the dark web, including forums, marketplaces, product/service reviews, and unsafe sites. When the solution identifies the mention of a name of a company or an industry, say in a hackers’ forum, it generates an alert. This is one way to identify cyber threats and prevent cybercrime.

In the world of law enforcement, there have been more than a few successful cases of undercover agents joining the dark web, fake-offering services, sometimes for months at an end, to be able to catch criminals. This is another way to deal with the problem.

Most businesses lack the time and the resources – not to mention legal jurisdiction – to carry out such cat-and-mouse games with criminals. And the truth is, in most cases, even the most digitally savvy law enforcement agencies use dark web monitoring solutions as these solutions provide excellent shortcuts. Through alerts, they give agencies a place to start, a jumping board for their investigations.

Who can benefit from dark web monitoring?
Individuals, public figures, companies, organizations, government – in short, anyone.

For individuals, a dark web scan will only reveal that their personal, payment, financial, or website login information is out there. Considering the avalanche of breaches every year, it’s a safe bet to assume that information has been compromised. Most ordinary individuals don’t need dark web monitoring – instead, they need to frequently change passwords and practice good privacy habits.

When it comes to businesses and governments, there’s a lot more at stake. A proactive dark web monitoring solution covers all the possible places where key data could wind up, and help businesses and governments stay one step ahead of the criminals.