The fallacy of dark-web monitoring
Lately I have been hearing and seeing a lot of advertising about dark-web monitoring services. These ads talk about how dangerous a place the internet is and will have you believe that all of your personal and sensitive information is out there in the hands of criminals just waiting to be exploited and of course they finish up by telling that for just a few dollars per month they can monitor such things for you and protect your data.
It is true that successful phishing attempts will almost certainly result in your data being sold at auction on the dark web but it does not follow that so-called dark-web monitoring is going to be in any way useful to you. I’ll explain why in a minute but first I want to remind you that there are a few steps that you should take to protect your data in the first place:
- Make sure you use good passwords
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all of your accounts
- Train your staff. Almost all password compromises are the direct result of a staff member falling victim to a scam email. If you’ve got some staff who are not ‘I.T. savvy’ do not let them have access to sensitive passwords and provide them with extra training.
- Install (and maintain) reputable anti-malware software.
Why Dark Web monitoring is a waste of time and money
The ‘Dark Web’ is just a term given to the collection of web-sites that are purposely difficult to gain access to or work out the people and organisations running them. What is the Dark Web?
Sites on the dark web are typically used for illegal activities where the operators and users wish to remain anonymous, sites range from relatively mundane things like password auctions right through to the worst that humanity has to offer, use your imagination for this bit.
Because these sites are purposely setup to restrict access to the general public the only way these dark-web monitoring services can operate is to infiltrate these sites in order to monitor them. The trouble is, it is simply not possible to monitor all of them, it’s not even possible to assemble a list of every dark website because the very nature of them is to remain secretive. Be wary of any company who tries to sell you a dark-web monitoring service because at best all they can do is to monitor SOME dark websites, not all.
Our Services
Managed IT Support
Our fixed price Managed IT Support Programs will increase your businesses competitiveness and efficiency with our I.T. Professionals on call for you 24/7.
Same Day On-Site Support
Class leading response times ensure your that when things do go wrong we’ll be there in a hurry so you can get on with doing what your business does best.
Security and Data Protection
Custom designed security and data backup systems protect your business from emerging threats and gives you peace of mind.
Hardware and Software
We supply, install and maintain hardware and software from all major vendors including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Dell all with our 30 day reconfiguration guarantee.
Testimonials
Your work last week was amazing. You couldn’t have been more supportive or expert in your conduct. I am very grateful and am amazed at your generous invoicing of last week’s work. I can only repay you by recommending you to as many people as possible.
Thank you. It is refreshing to know that when a problem occurs, you are always there – with great service.
Keran
Thanks for all your help today. Your patience & tenacity for solving the problem is greatly appreciated.
Jacinta
A very big thank you from me to all of the guys there….You make things so easy for us and are always available to help.
A massive shout out to the Nash though for fixing our printer – you nailed it Nash and not only changed MY life, but also helped to save some trees in the Amazon Forest!
Thanks to you all.
Jo
All good as usual, keep up the professional service.
Diana
Our previous I.T. Service Provider was distant, hard to contact and not customer focused. With Australia Wide I.T. we now have great service with a human touch. Our calls are answered promptly and the team is always ready to help in any way.
The maintenance program put in place by AWIT offers us peace of mind that our entire system is correctly and closely monitored.
Monica
Very much appreciate your very quick response today. It was pay day today and I was a bit worried (that we wouldn’t be able to process the pays) but because of you all is well, so a big thanks.
Dale
Attentive and thorough, Australia Wide I.T. get onto any of our I.T. problems quickly – with prompt, friendly and efficient service. Whenever we need to upgrade, we know we can trust their knowledge in supplying flawless new equipment that always works both physically, and to suit our needs.
Alison
We would recommend you to anyone, anytime.
Thank you all so very, very much for all your support. Not to mention bringing back my files to my Company. I cannot thank you guys enough.
Thanks again.
Leigh
The team at AWIT deliver nothing but breathtaking service!!!!
Brett
My business has grown from 3 stores to 5 stores over the last 3 years; one of the unfortunate consequences of this has been the fact that our old server and network could not cope with the growth. After much deliberation we chose Australia Wide I.T. to not only arrange the supply and installation of our new network, but to also provide long term support. We have been very pleased with our decision and would happily recommend them.
Bruce