Growing Dark Web Dangers Businesses Face Right Now

Keep these three things in mind when considering a company’s threat picture.

Should you still be worried about the dark web? The short answer is yes. The dark web is active and thriving today. It’s actually busier than ever and still growing thanks in part to the rise of the gig economy. That makes trends in dark web markets an important indicator of the rise and fall of threats that businesses face today and going forward. 

How Significant is the Dark Web These Days? 

The dark web is the world’s third-largest economy, and unlike the economy in many places, it is not experiencing any kind of downturn. In fact, it’s growing at an alarming rate. Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that the dark web will inflict about $6 trillion in damages

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also sounding the alarm about the precipitous growth that it is seeing in cybercrime, which is responsible for a major chunk of the dark web economy. In its IC3 2021 Internet Crime Report breaks down the bureau reported that its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received a record number of complaints from U.S. businesses

3 Dark Web Dangers for Businesses 

1. The Cybercrime-as-a-Service gig economy

These days, outsourcing cybercrime is both easy and cheap. Gangs don’t need to keep a wide variety of specialists on the payroll. Instead, they can quickly and affordably hire skilled cybercrime specialists that are selling their services on dark web message boards, Discord servers and Telegram channels.  

2. There is a low barrier to entry into the cyberattack market 

Bad actors don’t have to be skilled hackers or programmers to carry out profitable cyberattacks. They can simply buy the software, malware and other tools that they need to facilitate a cyberattack like plug-and-play phishing kits. Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) specialists take care of everything – creating and hosting a phishing site, creating and install a phishing template on the site, configuring the domain and take care of every technical aspect, sending emails to victims and collecting credentials or other desired data from the victims.

3. Easy access to an ever-rising pool of passwords 

Credentials are a hot commodity on the dark web and there is an ever-growing supply. Cybercriminals can quickly get their hands on vast quantities of credentials that have been snatched or stolen in cyberattacks, sometimes without spending a dime. Researchers at Digital Shadows have determined that right now there are 24.6 billion complete username and password sets available on the dark web.

Put strong shields in place between your organization and dark web threats with our innovative, affordable solutions.  Contact us today or book a discovery session!