17 May Who else knows your username & password?
Your details might be all over the Dark Web… what is it?
There are three varying grades of the internet – the ‘Public Web’, surprisingly forming only around 4% of the internet, is what we all use everyday, and includes services like websites and social media platforms. The ‘Deep Web’, representing the largest amount at around 93% of the internet, consists of private servers & systems, such as cloud services and CRM databases. Which leaves around 3% of the internet cordoned off typically for illegal activity. Identified as the ‘Dark Web’, untraceable and difficult to access, it is therefore a prime location for the shared activities between criminals of all kinds.
How do my details get there and why?
If a hacker has been able to steal a list of user login credentials from a particular system or service; these private details will have value to other cyber criminals, and therefore are shared and sold with other parties on the Dark Web.
This community want access to your details to penetrate your lifestyle, mimic your actions and, through a number of different means, look to defraud you and those you are connected with.
Should I be worried?
If your login credentials, email addresses and passwords, have been exposed and listed on the Dark Web, they will likely be available to anyone & everyone that wants them….
And, far worse; if you typically use the same passwords, email addresses and login IDs across lots of different platforms you access, such as accessing your online banking, social media profiles, email accounts and private photo & data storage; you are incredibly vulnerable to cyber-attack and being defrauded via your entire internet presence.
With access to all of these private services, it is incredibly likely your identity will be stolen and used as a platform to try to defraud those you are connected with via social media and email.
But, what can I do?
There are services available that can scan the Dark Web and first & foremost identify whether you are at risk. Such services can maintain a constant look & watch by trawling the data found within the dark web for your personal credentials, such as; email address, or other associated usernames or handles, and then raise an alert if anything of note can be found at any time.
If your details are found, you are then immediately made aware of your position of vulnerability, and critically can take action by at least resetting your passwords and user IDs wherever used.
How can I avoid becoming a target?
It is almost impossible to stop yourself from becoming a target; an unfortunate harsh reality we must all accept, is that at some point, our personal data will be stolen from somewhere. Whether that’s through our own lack of cyber security, being the victim of a phishing attack, or, a mistake on someone elses part.
BUT! What’s more far more important is being aware when you’re at risk, and having a process in place to mitigate your exposure both personally, and for your business. By implementing best security practices, such as the setting of secure passwords, ensuring that you regularly change those passwords, differ the passwords & login details across different systems, and lastly, implement cyber security features such as 2-Factor / Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA/MFA).
By enforcing cyber security features, such as 2FA or MFA, you are able to add another hurdle to cyber criminals in the process of accessing web-based data & services, beyond the first-tier of only usernames and passwords. Should your password be obtained elsewhere and that person tries to access a system that you use, you’ll receive notification by text message, phone call, or email, to your device to authorise that login; therefore faulting cyber criminals from getting to your data.
Want to get the best of cyber security for your business?
At Urban Network, we take a security first approach to everything that we do with technology.
If you have any concerns, questions or simply want to explore how to better secure your business, please do get in touch with the team for a FREE demonstration and initial consultation to explore how exposed your business might actually be.
To book a consultation or to arrange a further discussion, please get in touch via our form below, call 020 7749 6899 or email us hello@temp.urbannetwork.co.uk.