How to Shine a Light on the Dark Web

The dark web can feel intimidating, but having tools to protect your organization’s data can give you peace of mind.

If you find the phrase “the dark web” scary and undefined, you’re not alone. This term is often thrown around, but what does it really mean for you and your organization? Read on to find out how to proactively protect your information from this very real, very risky area of the internet with Dashlane’s new Dark Web Insights and Dark Web Monitoring features.  

What is the dark web?

The dark web is an anonymous part of the internet that search engines can’t index, which means individuals can use it for good—or evil. On the legitimate side, it enables human rights activists, whistleblowers, and individuals who live in countries without freedom of expression to communicate. But on the other hand, it’s also a breeding ground for illicit activities, like hiring cybercriminals and purchasing stolen logins, bank account information, and ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS). 

Unfortunately, having your organization’s information on the dark web can have serious consequences. In 2021, hackers disrupted the Colonial Pipeline by infiltrating the company’s system through a virtual private network (VPN) using a stolen password. Investigators don’t know how the bad actors obtained the user credentials. However, security researchers found those same credentials in a batch of logins that were leaked on the dark web.

Fortunately, there are ways to shine a light on the dark web, with dark web monitoring tools for both organizations and employees. For instance, Dashlane now offers IT admins Dark Web Insights and employees Dark Web Monitoring to allow them to view and remediate threats.  

How does Dark Web Insights protect organizations?

Dark Web Insights is a Dashlane dashboard that gives IT admins access to real-time insights and alerts about security breaches and other vulnerabilities facing employees in their organization. This tool also provides simple actions they can take to remediate such threats. IT admins are empowered to easily detect, assess, and remediate security risks, all in one place.

Benefit #1: Risk visibility for 100% of employees

• No more blind spots: IT admins can detect vulnerabilities among ALL employees, whether or not they have Dashlane.
• Access to in-depth insights: Receive information for every breach, including the type of breach, associated email, breached sites, and breach date. 
• No breach goes undetected: Dashlane continuously scans for breaches across 17 billion records.

Benefit #2: Proactive approach to security

• Receive real-time monitoring and proactive communication to effectively mitigate risks.
• Get automated email alerts when new breaches occur.
• View all vulnerabilities each employee needs to remediate with the Password Health tool.
• Enjoy total peace of mind about your organization’s data. 

Benefit #3: Simple, effective remediation methods at your fingertips

• Easily invite and onboard at-risk employees onto Dashlane.

How IT admins can get started with Dark Web Insights

1. Open Dashlane and click the Dark Web Insights tool on the left under Security Tools.
2. Type in your organization’s domain as prompted. (Domain verification can take up to a day.)
3. Review the Dark Web Insights report that is generated.
4. Invite at-risk employees to join Dashlane.

How does Dark Web Monitoring protect employees?

Employees don’t have to be security experts to remediate threats with Dashlane’s Dark Web Monitoring. This built-in tool does all the work, scanning 20 billion records on the dark web for any leaked data and alerting employees when their information is involved in data leaks. Employees will never wonder what to do if their information is compromised because they’ll also receive recommended actions to take to remediate threats.

Benefit #1: Protection for both work & personal life 

• It’s not just for your work email—monitor up to 5 email addresses of your choice.
• Get robust real-time monitoring and alerts when your data is found on the dark web. This tool scans more than 20 billion records attached to hacks and data breaches, with 1 million new records added every day.
• Receive alerts for many data types, including passwords, bank account numbers, and Social Security numbers.

Benefit #2: Easy remediation methods

• Dashlane recommends the actions you should take to secure all your compromised accounts after a breach.

Benefit #3: No maintenance required

• Dashlane monitors the web for you so you can focus on your work.
• Dashlane updates the list daily with any new credentials and passwords obtained from data breaches.
• There’s nothing else to do—get total peace of mind with no extra effort. 

How employees can get started with Dark Web Monitoring

1. Get a Dark Web Monitoring invite email from an IT admin at your organization.
2. Create a Dashlane account.
3. Look through the Dark Web Monitoring tool you’ve been auto-enrolled in.
4. Manage Dark Web alerts and change passwords as needed.

Detecting your organization’s data on the dark web and reacting effectively can be a challenge, so shine a light on the dark web with Dark Web Insights and Dark Web Monitoring.