Wednesday 10 April 2019

The dark web knows too much about me

a post by Dan Patterson for c|net [with thanks to Tara at ResearchBuzz: Firehose]

We asked cybersecurity experts to scour the dark web for our personal information. What they found was disturbing.

What do Dunkin' Donuts, Fortnite, Sprint and the Dow Jones company all have in common? They've all suffered from massive hacks in 2019 alone.

After every data breach, victim data often surfaces on the encrypted "hidden" internet known as the dark web, a network of sites that can only be accessed with special security software. Dark web markets operate like the ecommerce websites we shop on every day, but often trade in illicit goods like drugs, weapons and stolen data.

Because so many companies now capture and store personal information, hacking has become a profitable profession, said Terbium Labs vice president of research Emily Wilson. One hacker known as Gnosticplayers has allegedly leaked over 840 million user records. His most recent dump of 26.42 million records was listed for 1.2431 bitcoin, or about $4,940.

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