Hackers are Stealing & Selling your Details
Your details might be all over the Dark Web.. What is it?
The internet has three main levels – the ‘Public Web’, comprising of only around 4% of the internet, is what we all use everyday, this includes things like websites and social media platforms. The ‘Deep Web’, represents around 93% of the net, consists of private systems, such as the cloud services we use as businesses. Leaving around 3% of the internet identified as the ‘Dark Web’, untraceable, and therefore a prime location for the shared activities between cyber criminals of all kinds.
If a hacker successfully stole an entire list of user login credentials from a particular system, these private details will now have value to other cyber criminals and therefore shared and sold within the Dark Web.
Should I be worried at all?
If your personal credentials have been exposed and posted on the Dark Web, they will be available to anyone & everyone that wants to buy them…. and worse; if you happen to use the same repeat email address and password across multiple systems, such as your banking, social media, email and data storage, you’re insanely vulnerable to attack and theft across your entire internet presence.
What can I do about it?
There are currently a wide range of services to identify first & foremost whether you are largely at risk. Such services can maintain a constant watch by trawling data held on the dark web for your email address, or other associated credentials, and then raise an alert if anything of note can be found.
If your details are widely found in the results, you are then at least immediately aware of your vulnerability and can act fast by at least resetting and changing passwords wherever used.
Can I stop myself from becoming a target?
In the current generation it’s virtually impossible to hide. We must all accept that at some point in the future, our personal data will be stolen from somewhere.
HOWEVER! What’s more important is being alert when we’re at risk and having a procedure in place to mitigate the exposure of our business & our own personal data. By implementing best practices, such as setting secure passwords, regularly changing those passwords, ensuring we differ the passwords & login details across the different systems & services we use, and lastly, implementing features such as 2-Factor / Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA/MFA).
By utilising cyber security features, such as 2FA or MFA, we are able to add another step in the process of accessing our web-based data & services, beyond usernames and passwords. Should someone obtain your password and try to access a system that you use, you’ll receive a text message, phone call, or email to your device to authorise that login, providing a key hurdle to fault cyber criminals from getting to your data.
Want to get the best of cyber security for your business?
At Advoco, we specialise in learning our clients’ business and best applying security technology to their needs.
If you would appreciate a free brief discussion about your operational challenges & to explore the threats to your business, please get in touch today – 0345 260 8801 or drop us a line contactus@advoco-solutions.com
