The dark web is a section of the internet where every kind of criminal activity flourishes. The hidden websites of the dark web cannot be accessed through conventional web browsers. Cybercriminals use specifically designed web browsers such as TOR to discover these dark web addresses. TOR browser anonymizes internet users’ IP addresses and so makes it difficult to trace internet activities back to users.
Bad guys continue to trade in stolen credentials, ransomware, and malware on the Dark Web. They can also buy and sell guns, drugs, counterfeit money, compromised credit card numbers, and a lot more. There is an underground economy – a marketplace where all of these things are being traded and sold.
Payment card info and banking details are widely demanded items for sale on the dark web. E-skimming attacks in the retail sectors are on the rise. The cyber pests inject code into the website’s payment processing pages to steal account credentials and a credit card from consumers. Approximately 76,000,000 compromised cards were offered for sale in the dark web market in 2020.
Cyber pests find social security numbers and other personal information such as phone numbers, birthdays, and addresses to sell them on the dark web. They can also steal your identity to acquire financial gains. For example, attackers can apply for mortgage loans and credit or debit cards in your name.
A cybersecurity firm Flashpoint says that the social security number, full name, and birth date of the people who have high credit scores can be sold for $60 to $80 on the digital black market. Hackers mostly target schools or hospitals because they have a lot of information related to people’s identity.
The dark web is a part of the internet that provides various opportunities to threat actors so that they can perform criminal activities such as compromising credit and debit card numbers, exploiting social security numbers, buying, and selling firearms, and perpetrating pornography.
Cybercriminals are gleaning huge money through the dark web. Even a single dark website of a South-Korean-based guy collected a revenue of $3.7 million worth of Bitcoin between 2015 and 2018 when it was taken down. Undoubtedly, the dark web is a home of major cybercrimes.
You can protect your organization and yourself by being vigilant about protecting your data, using strong passwords that are unique for each site, and don’t click a link unless you know it’s safe.
