Can a Computer Network Services Company Protect You from the Dark Web? (Part 2)

In our last post, Part 1 of this short series all about the dark web, we explained what the dark web is and how to access it, but we certainly wouldn’t recommend that you explore it. In this post, we’ll offer four strategies you can use to protect your business data from ending up on the dark web, and we’ll discuss why you might want to consider a computer network services company to ensure that you stay protected every day.

We’ll start where we left off, so if you haven’t read Part 1 yet, we suggest that you start there.

It’s Important to Protect Yourself from the Dark Web

While the dark web’s specialized software requirements mean you can’t accidentally stumble onto a dark web site, it’s pretty easy for your personal information to end up there.

As we mentioned in the last article, there’s a high probability that at least some of your data is already available on the dark web, and that’s because there have already been so many cybersecurity attacks.

Did you use Anthem health insurance? Did you use your credit card at Target or Home Depot prior to 2013? Were you part of the Equifax hack? Are you on Facebook? Have you stayed at a Marriot Starwood hotel?

These are only a few of the cyberattacks that may have compromised your personal or business data, but there are many more. If you’re not sure whether your credentials have ever been stolen, you can check using Have I Been Pwned?, the oddly named, but totally legitimate website run by web security professional Troy Hunt (“pwned” means “owned” in geek-speak). The site aggregates all stolen data into one, easy-to-search database.

How the Right Computer Network Services Team Can Help You Stay Safe

The best way to protect yourself from the dark web is to hire a trained professional to secure your data for you. Cybercriminals run criminal businesses, and, like you, they want to increase their profits. They know your data is valuable, both to you and to others, so if they can get their hands on your information, they’ll sell it to the highest bidder.

Luckily, it’s your data, so the power to protect it lies in your hands. And protecting your data is easier than you think.

All you need to do is:

• Secure your data as much as you possibly can by staying on top of patches and updates that block criminals from breaking into your systems.
• Keep an eye on who’s accessing your data and when using network monitoring, which can flag foreign IP addresses, middle-of-the-night access times, and other suspicious activity.
• Focus on good password management policies, such as making sure to use unique, hard-to-guess passwords for each of your internet accounts and to change your passwords regularly (download a password manager like Dashlane or LastPass to make this easier). Use two-factor authentication whenever it’s available.
• Follow best practices for data protection including completing regular backups, installing antivirus software, setting up and maintaining firewalls, and blocking spam and educating your team about phishing.

Although it’s not hard to complete these tasks, it does make for a lot of boring administrative IT work and requires ‘round-the-clock monitoring. If you don’t have a dedicated IT team that can focus all their attention on securing your system at all hours, you’ll want to work with an established, trusted, computer network services company, right here in the Seattle area.

Since 2001, Interplay has been helping the owners of small and mid-size businesses secure their networks, protect their digital assets, and maintain their business uptime. We can help your company develop and enforce effective password policies, keep your systems up-to-date and patched at all times, monitor your network, and even help you set up and manage backups, business continuity, firewalls, spam blockers, and antivirus software.

Therefore, to answer the question we asked in the title of this series: YES, a computer network services company can protect you from the dark web, because we’ll always be looking out for your safety.

 

Request a cybersecurity quote from one of Seattle’s longest-standing computer network services firms, so you can start protecting your business and yourself from the dark web.