Top 5 Things to Look for in a Dark Web Monitoring Solution

You have probably read everywhere about “threats on the dark web.” But what do you know beyond that? Is your security team proactive in identifying company data on the dark web? Do they even know where to start?

The Dark Web is a complex ecosystem. It can be challenging to navigate if you haven’t had a lot of time-on-target(s) underground. Also known as the Hidden Web or Invisible Web, it consists of web pages that remain invisible on search engines and require a specialized browser (like Tor) to access. These tools lean into data encryption and user anonymity, which makes pursuing targets complex. 

As our Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Dark Web stated, "The same volatile economic constraints we experience are also present in the underground...There are winners and losers... It also has its own language and identity, its own geographies, and within each, are very distinct cultures.” The ideal Dark Web monitoring solution comprehends these nuances and brings hidden threats to light.

Here are the top five things to look for in a Dark Web monitoring solution:

Comprehensive Coverage and Data Sources

Your strategy is only as robust as your intelligence, which hinges on the quality of your data.

The right Dark Web monitoring tools employ experts proficient in scouring platforms like TOR, I2P, ZeroNet, Telegram, Discord, and IRC, or top marketplaces like Russian Market. This insider knowledge, combined with public, private, and commercial threat intelligence feeds, broadens your insight into the Dark Web. Comprehensive proprietary datasets empower operatives to delve deeper, capturing a holistic perspective where potential blind spots exist.

Real-time Monitoring and Alerting

Successfully monitoring the Dark Web demands time, expertise, and typically a dedicated team. However, the outcomes are rewarding. Real-time monitoring and alerting furnish organizations with early indicators of data breaches and potential threats, lending context to seemingly isolated cyberattacks. Such systems also expedite the resolution process via actionable alerts.

Leaked Data Recovery

Once the threats are found - be they credential lists, swaths of card numbers, PII of executives, or something else – working with professional dark web experts to recover it can limit the damage it can dole out to the enterprise. 

Why not go it alone on the Dark Web? Because it’s dangerous out there. As we asserted in our Hitchhiker's Guide to the Dark Web, “How do you engage with cybercriminals? First, don’t. Not on your own.” Those with extensive hands-on experience dealing with the Dark Web should lead out on these engagements, diving deep with the right level of precaution and expertise. Chasing down savvy threat actors in the criminal underground requires extensive depth and must be done with the right access, experience, context, and reputation to avoid doing more harm than good. Find an external cybersecurity provider with the right expertise and let dark web analysts clear the way on these covert operations.

Threat Intelligence and Analysis

Your overall strategy is only as good as your basis of threat intelligence and analysis. Simply put, a top-tier monitoring solution needs to consistently provide and analyze data on digital threat actors, emerging threats, and a range of online threats that lurk between the deep and dark web. 

Dark Web threat intelligence is critical as the Dark Web has become a “hotbed for cybercrime” and a safe haven for threat actors looking to trade stolen data, traffic malicious scripts and software, and plot future cyberattacks. The right intelligence can not only deliver early warnings of impending threats but also covertly discover mentions of your brand, location, and people across hidden channels. The bottom line is that good cyber threat intelligence speeds up decision-making for security leaders, making a monitoring tool an invaluable threat-mitigating resource.

Integration with Incident Response and Cybersecurity Infrastructure

Lastly, one of the most important things to consider when choosing a Dark Web monitoring solution is its ability to integrate seamlessly into the security architecture you already have. The more partners and integrations, the greater an organization’s chances of adoption and success. On the incident response front, an enterprise-worthy monitoring tool should deliver results end-to-end. As companies grapple with not just detecting but neutralizing Dark Web threats, an efficient incident response mechanism can facilitate a prompt, decisive counteraction, reducing both cost and incident impact.

Meet ZeroFox Dark Web Monitoring

ZeroFox leads the way in external cybersecurity or threats originating beyond the network. Our Dark Web monitoring solution leverages no less than 100 analysts who constantly monitor the Deep and Dark Web for signs of your information. 

Working with our over 700 global disruption partners – including the biggest social media platforms, registrars, and hosts – we bring our extensive external threat expertise to root out and stop data leaks and Dark Web compromises. 

ZeroFox monitors hacker forums, criminal marketplaces, TOR services, paste sites, and thousands of other inroads into the Deep and Dark Web. In a nutshell, we:

• Provide early attack warning from data collected across millions of sources (across the Surface, Deep, and Dark Web), including hidden chatter on Discord
• Analyze that data and group relevant feeds together for easy use
• Offer pre-built integrations with security tools so you can query for mentions of third-party vendors, domain names, and executives to stay ahead of attacks.

“So is the dark web scary?” we ask again. “Short answer: It depends, but generally, maybe." One thing’s for sure; it’s a lot less scary with an expert-driven Dark Web monitoring solution to lead the way.