Over 1.4 billion passwords found on the Dark Web. That’s almost 5 times the population of the United States.
1.4 billion records detailing passwords, usernames. Basically credentials to all sorts of social media and personal email accounts. Passwords that even novice hackers can exploit to get on your network.
Why should you worry about all of these—presumably old—password on the Dark Web?
Nearly 25% of workers use either the same exact password for both social media and work accounts. That means there is likely someone on your network with a compromised password—say Facebook, PayPal, even MySpace—using that very same password (or something very similar) to access your work network.
If you have any employees that dabble on social media in any way, shape, or form, they likely have some password or credential (which in and of itself may seem quite benign) floating around on the Dark Web.
And if, by chance, that person uses the same password to access accounts on your network, you may be at risk for a serious cyberattack.
You see, criminals are getting much more sophisticated at tracking down people. Some of the most recent Dark Web tactics might remind you of how bounty hunters track down and capture their prisoners.
Essentially, these criminals are hungry to get big pay days and they recognize that it doesn’t matter your size, if they’re able to get on your network they have opportunities to (1) wire money directly from accounts if they landed on the right user or (2) exploit data by ransoming or extorting information they’ve found on your network. Either way, the result for nearly 60 percent of businesses is devastating. Out of business after a year. That’s been the biggest eye-opening damaging effects of cybersecurity in recent years.
So… How can you make sure your employees are safe and NOT compromising your networks?
Train your users—cybersecurity training goes a long way in keeping your team safe both at work and home. By telling them stories that stick—as in stories that open their eyes to the clear and present dangers of being irresponsible online—we’ve seen businesses reduce their risks for cyber events, including ransomware attacks and data breaches by nearly 70%. Dynamic Edge DOES offer annual security training (and we try and tell our personal stories about how cyber breaches have affected real lives).
Make sure your network is air tight—many network administrators have too much on their plates to even think about security. Having a strategy more so than reactive tactics goes a long way to keeping your network secure from cyberattacks and data breaches. We have trained cybersecurity experts monitoring your network day in and day out, devising strategies to protect your network and its users so you won’t have to stay up at night worrying if everything is okay.
Track your team’s passwords—are you certain that your team members are being responsible with their password hygiene? It is actually too easy to reuse passwords, given how many some of us would have to remember if we had to use unique passwords for everything (Note: using unique passwords is highly recommended and changing out sensitive passwords regularly—we recommend monthly is a good standard to go by).
Track your team’s passwords by taking a look at what’s out on the Dark Web (ask us about doing this for you. We have security experts that scour the Dark Web looking for client information all the time). Why not bring any security concerns directly to those users that are at risk of causing a data breach or identity theft?
Do you feel secure enough? Contact Us TODAY for a free ransomware vulnerability assessment.
