Bella Ligenza
The Internet seems like a vast and never ending realm of likes, online shopping, and funny cat videos. The truth is that is only 10% of the entire Web. The other 90% hides behind closed doors and encrypted links on a place called the Deep Web. These are essentially private sites that exist outside of the domain of normal searches; some examples of these are internal company websites and member only sites. There is a more nefarious side of the Internet that is not meant for the average, everyday user buried at the bottom of the barrel of the Deep Web. It is referred to as the Dark Web, or the Darknet. It is accessed through very specific browsers, for example Tor, which often lead to illegal and/or disturbing content that is being hidden from both the public and law enforcement.
“There is a more nefarious side of the Internet that is not meant for the. average, everyday user buried at the bottom of the barrel of the Deep Web. It is referred to as the Dark Web…”
The Dark Web is commonly known as a marketplace for illegal merchandises. Exchanges range anywhere from drug dealings, selling of illegal data, the distribution of child pornography, and many more horrible services as long as you’re willing to pay. These black market businesses are not meant for the faint of heart or the morally sound. These interactions on The Dark Web are unfortunately becoming increasingly more popular over the years as encryption and anonymization software become more readily available. This makes it hard or sometimes impossible for authorities to track the activity that is happening on the Dark Web. In fact, ZDNet has stated that since the Dark Web is a part of the Deep Web, which is so large and hard to navigate, that it is impossible to even determine how many pages or websites are active at any point in time.
For the everyday Internet user, the Dark Web may not seem like threat; the logic being, “If I don’t want to participate in those activities, than I won’t go on the Dark Web”. Unfortunately, these illegal activities can find you without you ever having contact with the Dark Web. It is not uncommon for hackers to steal an individual’s identity place their information (credit card number, social security number, driver’s license, etc.) for sale on the Dark Web for others to purchase. Experian located some current rates in 2017 for some Dark Web businesses:
- Social Security number: $1
- General account login: $1
- Credit card number (with CV): $5
- Debit card number with bank information: $15
- Driver’s license: $20
- A “Fullz” (your full name, date of birth, Social Security number, financial account numbers, and other valuable data): $30
This is extremely concerning because most people are not logging into the Dark Web and digging through it to see if their information has been stolen and posted, which means they don’t notice until it is too late. With that in mind, here are some tips on how to protect yourself from Dark Web predators:
- Use a password manager. There are programs like Keeper and True Key that generate strong, unique passwords that make it difficult for hackers to break into your accounts. The beauty of these managers is that not only does it come up with these crazy long and difficult passwords, but it also keeps track of all of them for you. This solves the problem of reusing the same old password (pet’s name + birthday) over and over again.
- Use a credit monitoring service. If you find that your information is at high risk for being stolen, budgeting for credit and identity monitoring services is an option. For a monthly fee, these services will closely oversee your credit card for irregular activity. Sometimes they will even scan the Dark Web to see if your information is being sold.
- Consider adding a “freeze” feature to your financial accounts. Being able to instantly freeze your cards and financial accounts stops identity thieves from being able to take money out of your account and open other accounts in your name until that freeze is lifted.
These are just a few pre-emptive measures that can be taken to prevent your precious information from ending up on the Dark Web. If you do find that your identity is stolen and your information is being auctioned off, your first step should be to contact the proper authorities that deal with that information. Your card issuer/lender should be contacted if credit cards or bank cards are found; the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) should be contacted if your driver’s license is found; the US State Department should be contacted if your passport is found; and the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service should be contacted if your Social Security number is found on the Dark Web.
Stay safe out there.
Adamek, D. (2019, June 11). 4 ways to protect your data from the dark web. Journal of Accountancy, https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2019/jun/protect-data-from-dark-web-201921297.html
Bloomenthal, A. (2019, June 25). Dark web. Investopedia, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dark-web.asp
Colley, A. (n.d.). My. Personal info ended up on the dark web. This is what happened next. Make Change, https://www.makechange.aspiration.com/articles/my-personal-info-ended-up-on-the-dark-web
(n.d.). Cyber threats and danger on the deep (dark) web. Kaspersky, https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/deep-web
Holmes, T. E. (2019, July 30). What to do if your personal information lands on the dark web. Creditcard.com, https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/personal-data-found-on-the-dark-web-what-to-do/
Todd, Bella, Brittany 