Before getting into knowing the facts, let’s have a brief about the Dark Web. The dark web is the data of the World Wide Web that is accessible only through special software, combinations, or authorization and is on darknets, which are overlay networks that use the Internet. On the Dark Web, a user’s; real IP address is anonymized, which makes it incredibly challenging to determine which websites a device has browsed. Dedicated software is typically used to access it, with Tor being the most well-known (The Onion Router). It is used to disguise identities, access “Hidden Services,” and engage in criminal conduct.
1. Your data could already be available on the Dark Web, whether hacked or not.
In the first quarter of 2020, 267 million Facebook users’ data was sold for $540. Around 73.2 million unique user records entered the Dark Web in Q1 2020. In one Q1 2020 dump, 164 million user information from 12 significant companies were exposed. A data breach brought on by a third party has occurred in 53% of firms.
2. Around 133,927 C-level Fortune 1000 executives’ credentials were accessible on the dark web in 2020.
According to the Spy Cloud Breach Exposure Report, 543 million employee passwords and around 25.9 million accounts belonging to Fortune 1000 companies were traded on darknet hacking forums. Employee login details were said to have leaked due to password reuse between personal and professional accounts, weak passwords, and information-stealing bots.
Before the exposed credentials began circulating on the dark web, Spy Cloud used human intelligence (HUMINT) to obtain the stolen credentials as soon as the breaches happened.
3. Data dumps and dark web markets had access to 25,927,476 passwords belonging to workers of Fortune 1000 businesses.
These identities are especially valuable since they have more elevated user privileges in enterprise networks and are more credible when undertaking business email breach techniques.
4. Almost 65% of active criminal groups use spear phishing data from the dark web to conduct attacks.
In targeted attack efforts, spear phishing enters a person’s account or poses as that person. If a lousy actor gathers information about their target, like email addresses, personally identifying information, and other details from dark web markets and credential dumps, it will make the attack much easier for them to launch.
5. The RockYou2021 password breach is the most extensive credential file ever to simultaneously appear on the dark web.
An unknown user posted RockYou2021, a text file with approximately 8.4 billion passwords, 100GB in size, to a well-known hacking community. As a result, it is reasonable to anticipate that cybercriminals routinely try to get passwords for illegal purposes through many data breaches or ransomware attacks.
6. Hackers launch attacks every 39 seconds, or 2,244 times daily on average.
On average, 2,244 computers are attacked daily. Threats do not exclusively come from the dark web. Statistics on computer hacking are affected by a variety of factors, such as computer users who use passwords that are simple to guess or lax corporate cyber security.
7. The Dark Web is a massive marketplace for criminals and generates at least $500,000 per day.
One of the biggest darknet markets, Empire, features almost 6,000 goods. 50% of the listing sites are for drugs. Payments in Litecoin, Bitcoin, and Monero are all accepted. After payment, a middleman who is reachable by both parties ships the items to the buyer. To sell products at Empire, a $100 membership fee is necessary.
8. Unique currency of the Dark Web.
Standard currency is not accepted on the dark web. For market transactions, users usually rely on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Due to their near complete un-traceability, these are very well-liked.
9. Trade of Spirits
In an even worse twist, child spirits are for sale on the Dark Web. People in Thailand and other eastern nations believe that voodoo practitioners may seize the souls of miscarried or aborted children and use them to perform their bidding. People who purchase these spirits expect them to help or improve their lives somehow.
10. DuckDuckGo is a Dark web search engine.
People usually mistake DuckDuckGo for a regular search engine. DuckDuckGo is a surface web and dark web search engine. Unlike similar tools, DuckDuckGo ensures your privacy. In other words, it doesn’t save or disseminate any of your private data. This is the best option if you wish to increase your online anonymity.
