Dark Web Monitoring Is Not Enough

The “dark web” refers to the section of the internet that requires additional privacy support from visitors that can be provided by services like Tor and I2P. Entities (including websites) within the “dark web” are known as hidden services, and due to the access requirements for these services they are not indexed by commonly used search engines like Google and Bing. Naturally, some criminals take advantage of this extra security and privacy to buy, sell, and trade all manner of contraband, including stolen credentials.

Unfortunately, not all criminal activity takes place solely via the “dark web,” which means dark web monitoring tools offer insufficient protection. A large volume of criminal transactions, which can include the sale and trade of fresh breach data, happen through private exchange within trusted networks.

SpyCloud goes beyond dark web monitoring by leveraging human intelligence to infiltrate criminal communities and gain access to breach data that isn’t available otherwise, giving enterprises greater visibility of exposed credentials and PII that can put their users at risk.

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What Is Dark Web Monitoring?

Companies seeking to protect customer and employee data often invest in dark web monitoring tools to alert them if their compromised data is being advertised or sold on dark web forums, as this is something they cannot do alone. Most tools use automated scanners, crawlers, and scrapers to locate stolen credentials on public sites.

Unfortunately, by the time stolen credentials appear on the deep and dark web, the data has often been available for months or years within criminal private communities. The key is to identify breach exposures early — before criminals have had a chance to use them. SpyCloud researchers infiltrate criminal communities to gain access to breach data as soon as possible after a breach, empowering organizations to reset compromised credentials early and prevent account takeover.

Read the Research Report: Innovation on the Dark Web

Detect Exposures Early with SpyCloud

Account takeover attempts may be highly targeted, particularly early in the breach timeline, making early detection critical. The earlier username and password breaches are flagged, the sooner action can be taken to force a password reset. The sooner the password is changed to a stronger, uncompromised one, the shorter the window attackers have to take advantage of vulnerable accounts.

SpyCloud enables you to protect your users from both automated and targeted account takeover attacks by enabling fast remediation of compromised credentials.

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