There is a way to remain completely anonymous online, and hackers are using this Dark Web to target businesses, gaining access to private data which can compromise even the most high profile of companies. Small and large businesses alike are under threat, so how can you protect yourself, your business and the private details of your customers ?

Read on to find out.

What is the Dark Web

It may sound like something out of a bad science fiction novel, but the Dark Web is real. It refers to any website which is open for public use but which conceals the details and identities of its users. Often used interchangeably with the term Deep Web (which refers to any website that has private data not available to search engines like Google), the Dark Web has been used for everything from benign users wanting to protect their identities, to organised criminal networks implementing their plans away from the prying eyes of the authorities.

Most of the Dark Web uses an encrypted network called Tor. Anyone using Tor can encrypt their location and identity by routing all of their internet activities through several layers of public servers around the world. This makes it very difficult to trace a user.  While Tor is the most popular encryption tool, other networks do exist such as I2P. Regardless, the same principal of “spoofing” location and identity by routing through several remote servers applies.

How the Dark Web Threatens Your Business

In a bizarre twist of fate, Tor was originally created to protect sensitive US military information, but it is now used to protect hacking groups and even those trading in child pornography from ever being caught. It should be noted that not all Tor or Dark Web users are criminals, indeed it provides protection for those seeking to voice their dissension against totalitarian regimes. Furthermore, Tor may offer some protection to highly contentious issues of illegal surveillance of citizens in democratic countries. Tor itself isn't the problem – it's how people use it that's the main sticking point.

Specific to business is the threat from hackers to break into a company's servers which holds customers' credit card details and other personal information without ever being caught. When traced, investigators will be presented with these fake locations and identities, although this does not rule out cyber techniques to still identify an individual – it just makes it extremely difficult.

The highest profile hacking scandal as of this writing is the Ashley Madison controversy. This site allowed married individuals to meet up and have an affair. The site was clearly unethical, but users felt that their details were safe so that their partners would never find out. Hackers used the Dark Web, hacked Ashley Madison's servers, and then posted this information publicly.

Many people will not feel too sad about these revelations, but imagine if your business was targeted? Dark Web users could infiltrate your servers and steal your customers' details. This would  fuel a lack of confidence in your brand and at worst, could result in your customers being defrauded.

And it doesn't stop there.

The Dark Web can also be used to simply bring a business's website and servers down. This more common attack, called a Denial of Service, has been used to stop huge companies such as Sony and Microsoft from being able to do online business for an extended time, costing them a large sum of money at a difficult time.

Your business could therefore face four perilous threats from the Dark Web:

1. A denial of service, meaning that new and existing customers wouldn't be able to purchase your products or services.
2. That your customers' details would be posted publicly for all to see.
3. Hackers would use customer data to defraud them in the future.
4. Rival companies would use the data to gain a competitive advantage.

Thankfully, there are ways to circumvent some of these possibilities.

Learn How to Protect Your Business From the Dark Web

As always, prevention is worth a million cures. By putting in place a series of procedures you can help your customers to protect their data and respond swiftly should the worse happen and a Dark Web hack occur. These steps include:

• Inform: Keep your customers or clients informed about your data protection procedures. Specifically, let them know that your business will never phone or email them asking for any security details.
• Communicate: Encourage customers to contact your business if they witness any unusual financial activity. This way your business can be seen as proactive and identify any possible leaks of data as quickly as possible.
• Invest: It's absolutely critical that you have experts on hand to oversee security precautions. First of all, this will reduce the likelihood of a hacker being able to access your business's data, and second of all it will mean that you have someone on hand to respond immediately should a security breach take place. This can be a permanent member of your team, but often a business will opt to hire a third-party company to oversee cyber security.
• Change: Passwords, encryption keys etc. should all be changed regularly. In the event of a security leak, all keys or passwords should be altered immediately and customers should be encouraged to change their login details if they have any.
• Adapt: Dark Web hacking is a continually evolving technique. Ensure that your company stays appraised of new security concerns which could affect it. Liaise with your cyber security expert(s) and discuss knew developments in hacking which need to be addressed.

Take Action Before the Dark Web Damages Your Business

The Dark Web affords hackers a cloak of anonymity. This means that they can be bolder in their attempts to bring down a company or steal its data, as they know it is unlikely that they will be caught. In order to protect against this new threat, you must remain proactive about your business's security protocols and consult with a cyber security expert who can keep your business as safe as possible.