Dark Web Monitoring and Database Breaches
Introduction
The era of teenage hackers hacking for lulz (popular catchphrase used to express that one carried out a specific action for the sake of personal comic enjoyment) is over. Most hackers are organized and are in it for the money. When a malicious hacker breaks into your website, they are typically looking for something of value, and one of the most valuable things you have is your database. A website's database holds a variety of things including usernames, passwords, private messages, bank account numbers, personal details and all kinds of other sensitive data.
Over the years, there have been thousands of data breaches, ranging from small companies to Fortune 100 companies. LinkedIn, MySpace, Adobe, Vodafone, Equifax, The Home Depot, and Target are among some of the most well known and biggest data breaches. They all serve examples of companies that failed to take the necessary cybersecurity practices and had sensitive data stolen. Sometimes this customer data makes its way to the Internet, where hackers use it to compromise corporations and individuals.
If you want to see which data breach has leaked your login credentials, use the website https://haveibeenpwned.com/. Type in your email and it will use scanners and dark web monitoring services to display if your data has been compromised in a database breach.
Credential Reuse
As stated earlier, there are thousands of instances where a company has had their data stolen. Often, this stolen data can be found on the dark web as well as on clear text web chat rooms and forums. This has allowed malicious hackers the ability to amass billions of email addresses along with their clear text passwords. These breached credentials can be leveraged to perform additional attacks such as password spraying (also called “cracking” on the dark web).
If a user reuses the same password across multiple sites such as Facebook, Netflix, Spotify, or their bank, then all an attacker needs is their email and password and they can gain access to everything. Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible, but if your email and password were compromised in an unrelated database breach, hackers could obtain access to your credentials. This is why encrypted passwords and password managers are so highly encouraged by cybersecurity professionals.
Defense
If you eliminate password reuse, you can eliminate this attack and reduce the risk of suffering further damage from exposed passwords on the dark web. One of the best ways to do this is via a password manager. A password manager will randomize your password for every site you log into. This means that if your credentials are compromised in a database breach, those same credentials cannot be used to log in to other accounts you own. As a user, all you have to do is install the plugin and the software will handle generating your passwords. This means that not even you will know your passwords; the software logs in for you. Here are two well-respected password managers:
Another solution is to forbid the use of any password that has been compromised in a database leak. Some applications have taken this approach by banning the use of certain passwords, essentially making it impossible to use a password that has been compromised.
Red Sentry Dark Web Monitoring
Red Sentry's vulnerability scanner is a next-generation offensive security solution built by some of the best (ethical) hackers around. Our goal is to create a platform that automates as much as we can while also providing you with as much information as we possibly can. The scanner has a plethora of features and capabilities, one of them being dark web monitoring.
Red Sentry continuously monitors various channels, looking for data breaches related to our customers. As shown in the image above, clients can view which emails and passwords have been compromised so they can take the appropriate countermeasures and prevent a potential cyber attack. In the future, Red Sentry plans to develop additional modules to leverage these credentials against various applications, such as Outlook Mail. This would allow our customers to be alerted when a compromised credential is actively being used. These types of vulnerabilities just aren't being monitored by traditional tools and we hope to change that.
Conclusion
One of the most valuable things a company has is their data. When hackers compromise an organization or application, the database is one of the first things they go after. Sometimes these data breaches make their way to the Internet, where other hackers leverage this exposed data to perform other attacks, such as trying them against your Netflix account, or worse - your bank account numbers. Red Sentry continuously monitors for database leaks, allowing customers the chance to block compromised credentials before they can be used.
Discover more cybersecurity insights: Introduction to Subdomain Enumeration: A Beginner's Guide
