Month: June 2019

Dark Web: (noun)

Part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by utilizing special software, allowing users and websites to remain anonymous or untraceable. It exists on an encrypted network that uses masked IP addresses to maintain anonymity for users and site owners. This way, people who use the Dark Web for illegal purposes can’t be traced.

As you can see by the above definitions, the Dark Web can be a shady place where illegal transactions take place. Things like drugs, guns, counterfeit money, and credit card numbers can all be found, bought, and sold.

Chances are that if your business has been hacked, some or all of the stolen information is for sale on the Dark Web. This is why small to medium business owners need to make sure their security software is regularly updated against new and stronger threats.

But is the Dark Web only used for bad things? The answer may surprise you. No. It is estimated that only about a third of the people who visit the Dark Web do so for illegal activities.

Before we go any further, I’d like to bring up a little more info on the Dark Web and some of its misconceptions. Did you know that the internet you use every day is actually just the Surface Web? Also called the Common Web, Visible Web, or the Indexed Web, it is just the portion of the web that the general public has access to. We assume that it is the majority of the internet because we’ve labeled it the World Wide Web, right? Well, the Surface Web is only about one-third of the entire internet. Everything we have access to is, in reality, just the tip of the iceberg.

Underneath the Surface Web is the Deep Web. Also called the Invisible Web or Hidden Web. It is a portion of the World Wide Web whose contents are not indexed by standard search engines. 99% of the information on the Deep Web cannot be found through search engines like Google or Bing.

But are there positive aspects to the Deep Web and Dark Web?

The U.S. government uses both the Deep and Dark Webs to keep open channels to countries that are ruled by oppressive dictators, in case citizens of those countries want to send out news stories or ask for help. Media outlets, like the New York Times, host portals that allow people and whistle-blowers to send in news tips, anonymously.

That anonymity helps give people who are in bad situations or have no one in their lives to talk to, a means of expression and channels of help. There are groups for survivors of abuse that allow victims to name their abusers, and also to get support from other survivors. There are groups for people with every type of addiction, anything from food, drugs, to gambling. Some countries punish their citizens arbitrarily, for such reasons as sexuality or religion. The dark web offers opportunities for people to create communities where they can share stories and tips or plan to meet in person.

You can even join a chess club and play with people from all over the world. There are chat rooms, dating sites, and gaming forums where you can talk about anything, anytime, without the fear of being monitored. People can freely share their feelings, express their challenges and even find help from these groups.

Freedom of expression is alive and well in the crevices of the Dark Web. If you’re an artist you can share your passion with people who truly enjoy creativity and self-expression. Same thing for writers, poets, and musicians. There’s even a site where origami lovers post their beautifully folded ornate creations, and some of them are so intricate it’s hard to believe they started as a flat piece of paper.

You’re probably thinking, with all the negative and scary stuff on the Dark Web, I’ll never even try to access it. You want to stay safe and keep away from it, right? Well, sorry to tell you, but some of your daily excursions on the internet can only access part of the Deep Web, and even the Dark Web, because of the anonymity they provide.

For example, your company’s intranet is on the Deep Web so it cannot be seen by search engines. There are sites you may have joined that exist behind pay-walls or require special registration. Many databases and webmail pages are also tucked away below the Surface Net so your personal information is not exposed.

If you belong to a Facebook group, guess what? Yes, that group is on the Deep Web. Otherwise, anyone can search for that page, read the posts, and request to join. If you use online banking, that information is also on the Deep Web. Sites that host medical information and legal documents are hidden there as well. As you can see, there is a need for the Deep and Dark Webs because of the security they offer.

Freedom of expression, freedom of speech and freedom from censorship are things all of us enjoy, but, unfortunately, those things come with a price. If you choose to go to the dark side of the web, be careful. You just might find something beautiful, or you could accidentally stumble upon the worst aspects of human nature. Like everything else the world has to offer; when you’re exploring, be safe.

Here’s a quick test – what do these seemingly random alphanumerical groupings have in common?

1. 123456
2. password
3. 123456789
4. 12345678
5. 12345
6. 111111
7. 1234567
8. sunshine
9. qwerty
10. iloveyou

That is a list of the Top Ten Passwords used in 2018. Recognize any of these? If you don’t, you’re not necessarily in the clear, but your chance of becoming compromised or hacked is far less than someone who uses one of these passwords. If you do recognize these, you’re certainly testing your luck.

These days, creating and remembering passwords has become increasingly more challenging. If we had only one device that required a password, we could probably manage it quite easily. But with every device we use, most programs we need to do our jobs, and sites that require you to change your password every few months, it is estimated that the average person must memorize up to 191 different passwords. No wonder we often choose to take shortcuts!

The problem is, over 80% of hacks are due to compromised credentials, otherwise known as stolen username and password information that are often traded on the dark web. In fact, in one month alone in 2018, Microsoft blocked 1.3 million attempts to steal password data, which would have led to dangerous phishing attacks, and other hacking attempts.

These harrowing statistics are why you hear the recommendations:

• Never use the same password twice (IT Managers report 73% of all passwords used are duplicated in multiple applications opening up multiple avenues for attack)
• Never write down your passwords
• Never share your passwords with anyone else
• Never use real words or known information about yourself in your passwords
• Avoid commonly used passwords (50% of all attacks involved the top 25 most used passwords)

Pay attention to that last stat: 50% of all attacks involved the top 25 most used passwords. See what I meant when I said if you recognized anything on that list you’re testing your luck?

Following all these rules and regulations, you’ll end up with passwords that are about 16-characters long, impossible to memorize, and, unfortunately, are still completely hackable (much more difficult, of course, but where there is a will, there is a way). So, what do we do now?

Password Manager

The first shortcut is a password manager. You can store all your passwords in one place. This makes remembering all your passwords much easier, but there is one challenge. The password manager is also protected by a password. If you’re utilizing a software like this, make sure that this password is especially complex, so that hackers aren’t even tempted, especially in the case of a brute force attack. If possible, turn on multi-factor authentication, especially on your password manager.

Multi-factor authentication

Many sites utilize multi-factor authentication. This extra layer of protection connects to your phone, email, or other authentication source, rather than relying solely on a password. We recommend enabling multi-factor authentication wherever possible. Only caveat here is make sure your secondary authentication source is equally secured with a strong password. No sense in double protecting yourself with a wide-open source.

Random Password Generators

These sites come up with secure passwords for you, but are typically a random jumble of letters, number, and symbols that are darn near impossible to memorize. If you’ve got a strong memory, this might be a good starting point, but if you’re like most of us this may be more challenging than it’s worth.

How to craft the best password

Use a “Password Phrase” in place of random letters, numbers and symbols. Create something that’s easy for YOU to remember, but has no meaning to anyone else. For example I<3Fh@ck3rs43v3r!. Breaking this down, you get:

• I –       I
• <3 – Love
• F – fooling
• h@ck3rs – hackers
• 43v3r – forever

Easy for you to remember because you understand the phrase, but difficult for a hacker to decipher because it’s not real words. There’s no time like the present to get started and change your easy-to-hack passwords to something safer, because it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Work at creating passwords that will be difficult to hack. Make sure to change them regularly. Never write them down, (especially on a Post-it Note stuck to your computer!). But most of all, make passwords an important part of your life. Don’t consider them a nuisance or a thorn in your side. Make a game out of creating passwords. Challenge yourself to be more creative each time you create one. Beat the hackers at their own game by making your password too time intensive to try and crack, and you’ll reduce your chance of your information showing up on the dark web. Worried about your information already being available due to past weak password use? Contact us. We’ll run a scan that reveals your vulnerabilities.

You’re happily humming along on the Internet thinking you’ve got a pretty good understanding. You can navigate your way around Google, Facebook, Amazon, and news sites. You’re actually only visiting four percent of the Internet. There’s a whole world (96% of the Internet) hiding beyond these safe surface-level sites, known as the Dark Web. It’s a much less hospitable place.  

 

What exactly is the Dark Web?  

The Dark Web is a conglomeration of websites that cannot be found on search engines or accessed via traditional web browsers because their location and identity is hidden through encryption tools, like TOR. TOR was originally created to protect military communication but now has much broader utilization for both Dark Web purposes and for highly secure communication. You have to access Dark Web sites utilizing TOR, typically.  

 

People create sites on the Dark Web in order to hide where they’re operating from, as well as to remain anonymous (TOR hides all IP information, identifying information, as well as data transfers). Over half of the sites on the Dark Web are used for criminal activities.  

 

Why Do People Use the Dark Web?  

One of the most prevalent uses of the Dark Web is buying and selling illegal goods, such as recreational drugs, weapons, fake identities, and organs. The proliferation of cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, has facilitated these sales. People living within totalitarian societies that restrict communication also take to the Dark Web to share their thoughts freely.  

 

The most dangerous use of the Dark Web for businesses is the exchange of credentials (usernames and passwords) and identities. An individual’s stolen credentials can typically be sold on the Dark Web for the low price of $1 to $8. Hackers utilize these purchased credentials to: 

• Gain access to important financial information and steal identities (access to a Bank of America account holding $50,000 can be purchased for $500) 
• Access accounts for further phishing attacks 

• Threaten people with exposure of sensitive information (Remember the Ashley Madison hack from a few years back? Those credentials were dumped onto the Dark Web and hackers leveraged them to expose users). 
• Compromise other accounts using the same passwords and perpetuate the sale of personal information 

 

What can you do about it?  

The average citizen will never have a reason to access the Dark Web, but their credentials could easily be floating around, endangering their offline livelihoods. Once your credentials are released on the Dark Web, there is precious little you can do to have them removed. However, you should, at the very least, know when you’ve been compromised; so that you can immediately act, like changing passwords and activating two-factor authentication.  

We recommend utilizing a full Dark Web monitoring service that alerts you if credentials appear on the Dark Web.  These services constantly scan the Dark Web for your information and alert you whenever something suspicious appears. These alerts don’t necessarily mean a breach has occurred, but they are very good heads up that something bad may be coming. You can then create a plan of attack before any damage is done. Granted, there will be your fair share of false positives, but we firmly believe in operating in the better safe than sorry camp.  

 

How should you get started with Dark Web monitoring?  

Our team can run a preliminary scan of your domain revealing the likely breaches in the last 36 months. We’ll then review that report with you and come up with a plan of action to alleviate any major dangers. Click here to request that scan.