Cybersecurity is only as effective as the data that powers it. Everything from cyberattack prevention to incident detection and response is tied to data. Not only that, the quality of said data directly impacts success. So it is no surprise that security analysts are quickly figuring out just how valuable dark web threat intelligence is to incident response.
Analysts rely on quality data to improve how they respond to security incidents. Similar to a military or law enforcement action, cybersecurity responses are more effective when the data informing them is reliable and up to date. That’s where dark web threat intelligence shines.
Not Easy to Get To
The dark web is difficult to get to. That’s by design. Its creators have developed an entire network that is hidden from the public eye through encryption and other techniques. But according to dark web threat intelligence provider DarkOwl, anyone can get there with the right knowledge and a selection of specialized tools.
Here’s the big question: why is the dark web walled off from the rest of the public internet? The answer is as simple as understanding who traffics in the underground world of the dark web.
The dark web is home to all sorts of illicit and undesirable activities. Those who make it their digital home are engaged in things they don’t want the rest of the world knowing about. And much like the organized crime of the mid-20th century, threat actors want to keep a lid on what they do. The fewer people who know about their activities, the better.
It’s Why Darknet Data Is So Valuable
If you stop and think about what goes on in dark web spaces, it becomes abundantly clear just how valuable data gleaned from those spaces is to cybersecurity. As DarkOwl explains, dark web threat intelligence zeroes in on those hidden spaces to gather information about:
- Individual threat actors and groups
- Emerging cybersecurity threats
- New hacking tools and services
- Potential victims and their data
Ongoing threat intelligence operations could pick up on an organization’s stolen credentials, for example. Once those credentials are identified on a dark web marketplace, the affected organization can take immediate action, including forcing password resets and encouraging users to change their usernames.
Insights Can Be Quite Unique
The thing about the insights dark web threat intelligence offers is that they can be unique. Think of it this way: the dark web is continually evolving. New information is made available on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis. Information gleaned from the dark web often can’t be found any wore else.
Plugging that information into a security team’s analysis provides unique insight into what threat actors might be doing. More importantly, real-time information from the dark web can add context to older information that otherwise seems useless. Put another way, contextual understanding changes everything.
It All Leads to Better Responses
Given that incident responses are tied directly to the data on which they are based, more insightful data should lead to better responses. That’s the whole point of integrating dark web threat intelligence into an organization’s cybersecurity posture. Dark web threat intelligence fills in the gaps. It creates links and bridges to real-time data that is as up to date as possible.
Incident response is tough enough when an organization has all its ducks in a row. It becomes more difficult when intelligence data is incomplete. Dark web intelligence aims to plug all the holes in a security team’s dataset. Information gleaned from the dark web means more robust analysis, more actionable insights, and better responses.
