Dark Web Threat Intelligence

What is dark web threat intelligence?

While most people use Google for searches and advertising that is not accessible through Google searches. Beyond the deep web lies the dark web, a hidden subset intentionally inaccessible by public indexes. You can use specialized software, such as Tor, to access the dark web. Tor allows you to access a hidden world that includes paywalls, password-protected websites, and private databases. 

While activists, journalists, detectives, business intelligence officers, and government officials use the deep web for privacy and legitimate purposes, cybercriminals and their networks use the dark web to engage in illegal activities, such as trading stolen data, hacking tools, and other malicious services.

Therefore, illicit activities on the dark web pose threats to legitimate businesses and innocent users. Dark web threat intelligence was developed to prevent these threats and the proliferation of cyber security breaches. Cybersecurity professionals can gain valuable insights into emerging threats, compromised data, and cyber criminals’ tactics by monitoring illicit activities on the deep and dark web.

Cyber security professionals require dark and deep web intelligence to navigate and extract relevant data while maintaining anonymity and security. With this intelligence, your organization can anticipate and mitigate threats before they cause reputational, financial, or compliance breaches.

Dark web intelligence empowers organizations to uncover cybercriminal activities and prevent security breaches from escalating into major threats.

Importance of dark web threat intelligence

The rise in cyberattacks continues to be a major global concern. According to the 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) from Verizon, there has been a notable increase in cyberattacks, with over 6,100 confirmed data breaches in 2023. Dark web intelligence is a critical tool in this fight. Many of these breaches are orchestrated or exploited through the dark web, where cybercriminals trade stolen data, hacking tools, and other malicious resources. By leveraging dark web intelligence, organizations can proactively identify and mitigate threats before they escalate, monitor for exposed data, and stay ahead of cybercriminals who operate in these hidden online marketplaces. This intelligence provides a deeper layer of defense, enabling businesses to respond to emerging threats swiftly and effectively.

While traditional security measures can monitor and detect some threats, they are often limited in protecting sensitive data and systems. Dark and deep web intelligence offers a unique vantage point for understanding the tactics, techniques, and procedures employed in dark web cybersecurity. 

By monitoring the dark corners of the Internet, businesses can proactively protect their assets, safeguard sensitive information, and maintain their reputations.

1. More comprehensive decision-making: Gathering data from the dark web can equip cybersecurity professionals to make intelligent choices to safeguard their organizations against cyber threats, data breaches, and other malicious activities.
2. Proactively identify potential threats: By monitoring dark web forums, marketplaces, and communication channels, you can identify potential threats before they materialize into attacks. This proactive approach allows risk management teams enough time to intervene and mitigate, reducing the impact of cyber incidents. 
3. Critical context for ongoing cyber incidents:

Dark web data intelligence provides a critical context for ongoing cyber incidents. When you understand the origin and nature of the threat, you can respond more effectively, contain the breach, and prevent further damage.

4. Detecting and responding to data leaks: Dark and deep web intelligence helps organizations detect and respond to data leaks. Solutions using this intelligence can better protect sensitive information and maintain customer trust.
5. Improve strategic decisions for companies: You can use insights from the dark web to make strategic decisions related to cybersecurity investments, policy development, and risk management. Organizations can allocate resources more effectively and prioritize efforts based on the latest threat intelligence.

Components of dark web threat intelligence

Dark web threat intelligence comprises several critical components, each playing a vital role in the overall intelligence process:

• Data collection

Cyber security intelligence analysts systematically collect data from various dark web sources, including forums, marketplaces, chat rooms, and other communication channels. Cyber teams combine automated tools and human analysts to gather relevant information while ensuring operational security.

• Data analysis 

Raw data from the dark web is often unstructured and requires thorough analysis to extract actionable intelligence. To analyze the data from the dark web it first must be structured to make it machine readable and then run through machine learning and natural language processing to identify patterns, trends, and indicators of compromise (IOCs).

• Contextualization

Contextualizing the findings is essential to making sense of the collected data. Advanced cyber security solutions correlate dark web intelligence with other data sources, such as open-source intelligence (OSINT), internal security logs, and industry reports. Contextualization helps understand the broader threat landscape and an organization’s specific risks.

• Reporting and dissemination

This dark web threat intelligence component includes detailed reports, real-time alerts, and actionable recommendations. Effective communication ensures that security teams, executives, and other decision-makers can act promptly and decisively.

Correlating data from various sources is a great way to find risks that are specific to your organization.

Common threats identified on the dark web

The dark web hosts a variety of threats that can pose significant risks to organizations and lead to account takeovers and other threats.

Exposed or stolen credentials: Stolen or leaked data, including personal information, financial records, and proprietary business information is frequently traded on the dark web. Recent data breaches of leaked data and credentials in 2024 include AT&T, Ticketmaster, iCar and Bayhealth. 

Malware and ransomware: The dark web is a marketplace for malware and ransomware, with cybercriminals selling or renting malicious software to other attackers. For example, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)’s online ticketing system experienced a ransomware attack in April 2024, shortly before a Champions League match against Barcelona. By monitoring these activities, companies can help organizations anticipate and defend themselves.

Phishing kits: Phishing kits enable attackers to create convincing phishing emails and websites, and are readily available on the dark web. For example, in June 2024, a sophisticated phishing kit called V3B circulated to mimic 54 well-known financial institutions across Europe. It uses complex JavaScript and a custom CMS to bypass detection while incorporating features to overcome multi-factor authentication and one-time passwords. By tracking the distribution of these kits, organizations can enhance their defenses against phishing attacks.

Exploit kits: Exploit kits, which contain pre-packaged vulnerabilities and attack tools, are sold on the dark web to facilitate cyberattacks. Microsoft Office is a popular target for hackers because exploits often work across multiple versions of Word and Excel. Cyber criminals use these malicious files frequently to infect systems with malware like password stealers, crypto miners, or ransomware. Staying informed about the latest exploit kits helps organizations patch vulnerabilities and strengthen their security posture.

Software vulnerabilities: Dark web cybersecurity monitoring notifies you when people on the dark web discuss ways to exploit your organization’s software and proactively patch their networks’ vulnerabilities.

Stolen data:  Following a data breach, threat actors often go to the dark web to buy and sell personal data that can be used to commit fraud or identity theft. Companies who experience these breaches can find this information on the deep or dark web and warn the relevant people and authorities. Notifying affected individuals and authorities after a data breach is a requirement under several compliance frameworks. 

For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union mandates that organizations report a personal data breach to the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. Additionally, companies must notify affected individuals within a reasonable time, if the breach will likely result in a high risk to their rights and freedoms. This legal requirement ensures that companies act promptly to mitigate the impact of the breach and protect the individuals whose data has been compromised 

Tools and techniques for dark web monitoring

Effective dark web cybersecurity requires specialized tools and techniques to navigate the Internet’s hidden parts securely and efficiently. 

Human intelligence (HUMINT): While automated tools are invaluable, human intelligence can provide context, validate findings, and offer insights that automated systems might miss.

Automated web crawlers and scrapers: These tools can navigate hidden forums, marketplaces, and chat rooms to gather relevant information while maintaining operational security. 

Threat intelligence platforms:  These platforms combine natural language processing techniques, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to analyze large volumes of unstructured data crawled from different web layers. 

Lunar from Webz.io uncovers unknown threats with our user-friendly tool for intelligence gathering intelligence across the dark web, deep web, and alternative social media. With Lunar, you can set alerts to track data breaches or leaked information about your company’s sensitive data. Take the proactive approach to dark web cybersecurity. 

If your organization is seeking a proactive approach to dark web cyber security, you can learn more about Lunar here or contact one of our data experts for more information.