Is the Dark Web Dangerous?

Yes, the dark web is dangerous because numerous criminal activities take place on the dark web. There are also cyber threats that are common on the dark web such as malware, a type of malicious software, that can be installed onto your device by a cybercriminal and used to steal your information. 

Read on to learn more about why the dark web is dangerous and how you can avoid having your information published on it. 

What is the Dark Web?

The dark web is a part of the internet that is not indexed, meaning it’s not able to be found by standard search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. The only way to access the dark web is with a special browser called Tor. 

The dark web provides users with anonymous and secure communication channels that can only be found by accessing the dark web. Apart from providing users with anonymity, the dark web is also home to numerous criminal activities such as the selling of stolen personal information and illegal sales of drugs and weapons. 

What Are the Dangers of the Dark Web?

Here are a few dangers of the dark web.

Malware

Malware is a form of software that infects devices using various techniques, such as victims clicking on malicious links. When you go on the dark web, there’s no way to know what is safe to click on so there’s always the potential of clicking on the wrong image, link or attachment, which can lead to your device becoming infected. 

Depending on the type of malware that is installed on your device, what it does varies. For example, if spyware is installed on your device without your knowledge, it can spy on you by gaining access to your device’s camera. If keylogging software is installed on your device, it can track your keystrokes and use them to determine sensitive information such as your passwords and credit card numbers. 

Legal consequences

A lot of illegal activity occurs on the dark web. You could be considered complicit in that activity if you participate in parts of the dark web where cybercriminals exist. For example, if you end up on a chat forum with illegal activity or try to make illegal purchases, you could face legal consequences.

Financial scams

Going on the dark web can also place you at risk of being scammed financially. The dark web black markets take advantage of those who try to purchase illegal things on the dark web by taking payments and then never delivering the requested services.

Blackmail

Visitors to the dark web are vulnerable to blackmail by cybercriminals. If you visit the dark web without being connected to a Virtual Private Network (VPN), cybercriminals can use this to their advantage to find out who you are by tracking down your IP address. Once a cybercriminal knows your IP address they can use it to find out where you live. If they figure out where you live they may attempt to blackmail you by saying they’ll dox you if you don’t pay them – resulting in you losing money. Doxxing is a cyber threat where a person maliciously posts personal information about someone online without their permission. 

Exposed personal information and credentials

Many cybercriminals on the dark web use it to publish and sell personal information that they have stolen or gathered from public data breaches. If your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) were to end up on the dark web, you’re more likely to have your identity stolen, which is difficult to recover from mentally and financially. Having your PII published on the dark web also makes you vulnerable to being sent targeted cyber attacks which will be difficult to spot since they’re personalized just for you. 

Apart from PII, cybercriminals may also publish and sell your online credentials. With your credentials, cybercriminals can gain access to your accounts and use them for their own malicious purpose such as buying things without your authorization. If you’re someone who reuses passwords, with one set of credentials cybercriminals can access multiple of your accounts that use the same username and password. 

How to Avoid Having Your Information on the Dark Web

Here is how you can avoid having your information published and sold on the dark web.

Secure your accounts

Securing your accounts is one of the best ways to avoid having your personal information published on the dark web. To secure your accounts you should have unique, strong passwords for each of them. Strong passwords are at least 16 characters long; contain upper and lower case letters, special characters and numbers; and are never reused. Passwords should also never contain dictionary words as they are more vulnerable to being compromised through dictionary and brute force attacks.

Along with strong passwords, each of your accounts should also have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled whenever possible. MFA provides your accounts extra layers of protection since it requires that a user authenticate who they are before they can successfully log in. Even if a cybercriminal was able to guess your login credentials, MFA would prevent them from being able to log into your account since they can’t verify who they are.

Subscribe to a dark web monitoring service

Dark web monitoring is a process in which a tool is used to scan for your personal information on the dark web such as your email address or passwords. Subscribing to a dark web monitoring service like BreachWatch® helps you detect when your credentials have been published on the dark web. BreachWatch is a dark web monitoring tool that works alongside Keeper Password Manager. With BreachWatch, you’ll be notified immediately when the credentials stored in your Keeper Vault are found on the dark web so you can change your passwords right away and secure your accounts.

With other dark web monitoring tools like HaveIBeenPwned, you’ll only know when your email address is found on the dark web by manually entering it into the tool. 

Stay Protected From the Dangers of the Dark Web

Knowing the dangers of the dark web is important to keep yourself and your data safe from this part of the internet. If you’re not taking the necessary precautions such as using strong passwords, enabling MFA and using a dark web monitoring tool, you’re placing yourself and your data at risk of becoming compromised and being sold on the dark web. 

To see if your email address has been published on the dark web, use our free dark web scan tool. To further protect yourself, start a free 30-day trial of Keeper Password Manager.