How to Know if You Are for Sale on Dark Web

Nosotros hear a lot of talk today about the "Nighttime Web". Stories abound almost the nefarious goings-on and the sinister entities backside them.

But what is the dark web, exactly? Who uses it? How does it affect y'all? And is information technology all bad?

What Is The Dark Spider web?

The night spider web is a subconscious network of websites that you lot demand special tools to access. You won't find these sites past searching on Google. These sites are heavily encrypted and hosted on bearding servers. They're used past people looking for serious anonymity—sometimes for legitimate reasons, other times not so much.

To get to the sites, users leverage tools like TOR (short for "the Onion Router"). TOR was originally developed by the U.S. Navy and does have its legitimate uses. For example, political activists living in oppressive states utilize the encrypted web to share information, while reporters in conflict regions often utilise the dark spider web to communicate with sources.

Yet, the anonymity provided by the dark web is often exploited by hackers and criminals who trade in illegal goods, services, and your stolen personal data.

The dark web has become a rich marketplace for trading in email addresses, banking concern account and credit card information, Social Insurance Numbers, and passport details, among other things. Having this personal information on the dark web can expose yous and your company to possible identity theft and fraud.

How Your Personal Information Ends Up On The Dark Web

Generally, your personal data ends up on the dark web through information breaches. And those breaches are becoming more than and more common, affecting billions of people.

The July 2019 Capital Ane data breach revealed the personal information of some 100 1000000 Americans and 6 million Canadians. And that doesn't even put information technology in the Top ten of similar breaches as measured by number of customer records affected.

Hither are some other major data breaches you may remember:

• Yahoo! (2013; 2014)

Number of Records Affected: 3 billion; 500 million

• Marriott International (2018)

Number of Records Affected: 500 million

• First American Financial (2019)

Number of Records Affected: 885 one thousand thousand

• Facebook (2019)

Number of Records Affected: 540 million

Whether it's your electronic mail address and password, or something even more sensitive (like your banking info or SIN number), your personal data could already be on the dark spider web and up for auction.

The next question is: how tin you detect out?

How To Bank check The Dark Web For Your Information

Get-go with a Dark Web Scan

A dark web scan gathers data dumps from popular websites on the night web. These data dumps are databases of personal information like usernames and passwords that take been gathered from compromised websites and released online. A "nighttime web scan" is a bit of a misnomer—the scan is actually of these lists of leaked personal data rather than a scan of the dark web itself.

The results of the nighttime web scan volition let you know if your personal information—including usernames and passwords, email addresses, banking and credit information and Social Security or Social Insurance Numbers—is constitute on one of these lists.

However, even if the scan says you are fine, you might not be. With and so many websites, no service can scan the entirety of the dark web. They're just searching the leaks to which they have access—which could mean your data is vulnerable.

Check it with a Free Tool Yourself

Have I Been Pwned? is a gratis tool created by Troy Hunt that searches over 322 data dumps from websites to tell you whether your email address or password has been compromised on the dark spider web. You tin also have it notify y'all when your e-mail address appears in a new data dump.

This tool doesn't scan for social security numbers in these data dumps simply can be useful if y'all desire to know if your credentials have been leaked.

Equally a costless tool, it'southward not quite as robust as the scan you get from a professional, but it can provide you with some of the information you lot need.

What To Exercise If Your Information Is On The Dark Spider web

Unfortunately, once your leaked personal information is out there, it's impossible to get it removed, terminate its sale, or prevent someone who buys information technology from using it.

Dark web scans can't protect yous, just they tin can alert you then yous tin accept steps to avoid or reduce the damage of the fraudulent utilise of your personal information and address any problems that have already happened.

So, what if your personal information similar email accost, phone number or passwords is already on the dark web?

Here are some steps you can take depending on what information is out at that place:

• Freeze your credit. A credit freeze is gratis to prepare and remove and requires lenders to verify your identity earlier pulling your credit file or opening any new accounts in your name.
• Close your fiscal accounts. If you find your credit card or bank account numbers on the night spider web, let your menu issuer and bank know so they tin shut whatever compromised accounts and open up a new one.
• Report compromised passport or driver's license. If your commuter'due south license or passport is found, contact your provincial Ministry of Transportation, or Clearing, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
• Report compromised SIN number. If your Social Insurance number is plant on the night web, report it to the Canada Revenue Bureau. The CRA also recommends contacting Canada's 2 major credit bureaus, Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada, for a copy of your credit report and information about placing a fraud alert on your file. Similar to a credit freeze, this requires creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts in your name.
• Update and secure your passwords. If whatsoever of your passwords are constitute on the dark web, change them on all of the accounts it is used. As an added precaution, update your security questions and answers and enable ii-factor authentication on your accounts.

Awareness Is Your Best Line Of Defense

When your personal information ends up on the dark spider web, it'south there to stay. The all-time you can do is exist enlightened that it's at that place and take steps to notify the proper institutions in club to mitigate the damage information technology could cause.

If y'all're interested in a dark web scan for you or your business organization, talk to our squad of Nerds today.

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Source: https://www.nerdsonsite.com/blog/is-your-information-being-sold-on-dark-web/

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