The dark web: An introduction

The dark web: An introduction

Have you come across the term, dark web, recently? As a business, you might have heard that you need to keep your data safe from the dark web. So, what is the dark web anyway? Read on to find out…

What is the dark web?

The cybercrime landscape is evolving fast. The “Nigerian” email scams are now old. Cybercriminals are smarter and more organized now--almost functioning like professionals. In fact, there’s a sort of a parallel universe where they all operate in a very corporate-like manner. And that parallel universe is called the Dark Web.

The surface web, the deep web and the dark web

Essentially, the internet can be categorized into 3 parts.

The surface web, which includes your ‘regular’ websites--the kinds that just show up on web searches. For example, you type, Dog Videos and links to a bunch of dog videos on YouTube shows up. YouTube, in this case, is an example of the surface web.
The deep web, which shows up in web searches, but requires you to log in to view specific content. For example, your internet banking page or your netflix subscription.
Then comes the dark web.

The dark web is part of the internet that isn't visible to search engines and requires the use of an anonymizing browser called Tor to be accessed. The dark web offers anonymity and hence is the hub for all sorts of illicit activities in today’s internet age. Strictly speaking, the dark web typically hosts illicit content. The kind of content that you find in the dark web include

Credit card details, stolen login credentials for something as serious as internet banking accounts to something as trivial as Uber or Netflix,
Contact details/communication platform for striking deals with hitmen, drug dealers, weapon dealers, hackers, etc.,
Marketplace to buy malicious codes to help corrupt or jam IT systems and even RaaS (Ransomeware as a service!)

All of the above and more, for a fee of course. In short, the dark web is like the underworld of the internet. So, how does it concern you and why you need to steer clear of it? Read our next blog post to find out.

Comments

Leave virus protection to your MSP Doctor

Leave virus protection to your MSP Doctor Cyberattacks on individuals and businesses for nasty purposes is nothing new. Stealing data, disrupting business, national activities, and just causing general mayhem has been going on for as long as there has been a digital world to attack. Ransomware, however, seems to stand out as a particularly unique and especially troublesome form of crime. For one thing, once an attack has happened, there is likely nothing to do to retrieve your data until you have given in to the demands of the criminals. As a small- to medium- sized business owner, you should never just rely on off-the shelf virus protection programs as the sole tool to protect your organization against cyber crime. In all cases you should rely on an IT professional to look at every aspect of your IT infrastructure to ensure that everything possible is being done to protect your data. Beyond that, ransomware attacks are a particularly troublesome form of crime that requires special...

Stars of the show: Cloud and VOIP

Stars of the show: Cloud and VOIP Despite annoying challenges presented by the abrupt shift to the WFH model thanks to the pandemic, there were some tech heroes that saved the day. These two made WFH possible. The cloud The cloud is that platform whereby you outsource your data storage as well as many of your applications. With the cloud, your data and software applications are no longer physically located in a specific geographic location. Therefore, access is no longer tethered to a user's physical location. The cloud was the biggest game changer during the pandemic because it allowed businesses to get anytime, anywhere access to their data as well as critical applications. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that if it weren’t for the cloud, a lot of businesses wouldn’t have been able to survive the pandemic at all. VoIP Along with the cloud, VOIP proved to be one of the most critical elements when it came to business continuity during this pandemic. It revolutionized business commu...

WFH means more vulnerability to cybercrime

WFH means more vulnerability to cybercrime. Here are some methods to stay safe WFH opens up whole new horizons in terms of flexibility, productivity, and cost savings. But, it also opens your business up a little more to cybercriminals, as you can’t have a hands-on approach to cybersecurity, especially if your employees are using their own devices for work. This blog discusses some mechanisms that you can use to mitigate the risks of becoming a victim of cybercrime in the WFH setup. Multi-factor authentication Instead of using a single password for data access, multi-factor authentication adds more layers to security. If WFH has your employees accessing their work computers remotely, then you simply cannot skip multifactor authentication. Multi-factor authentication works by confirming the identity of the user across 3 areas What they know: Examples include asking for User IDs, passwords, answers to ‘secret questions’, verification of their date of birth, etc. What they have: This incl...

Search This Blog