How much is your data worth on the dark web?
The dark web. The mystery and danger shrouded around this part of the internet conjures up feelings of fear and confusion.
And it should.
The data most of us can see and access is only 10% of the information that’s out there. The rest is in the dark web, which is also known as darknet.
The dark web is a breeding ground for criminal activity. And for most of us, the biggest threat is having our personal information bought and sold. Selling our credit card data, passwords, account numbers and personal info is big business.
Have you ever wondered what your data is worth? If you have a credit card with a balance of up to $5,000, it's worth $120 to criminals, according to Privacy Affair’s dark web price index. Your Netflix account is worth $25. And a selfie of you holding your ID is worth $120.
Check out our graphic to see what common items are sold on the dark web and how much they’re worth.
Price of personal data
Threat to businesses
While most of the focus in these hidden crime bazaars on the dark web is related to the theft of personal information, the threat to businesses is also significant. Experts estimate that criminals are paying $17 million to buy 720,000 pieces of data. In total, cybercrime costs the global economy about $445 billion a year. That’s a hefty payday for criminals.
Dark web 101: Do you know the 3 levels of web?
- Surface web: The roughly 4.5 billion pages indexed by search engines such as Google and Bing. These are accessible to anyone and typically are not anonymous. The surface web accounts for roughly 10% of the internet.
- Deep web: Any part of the internet that isn’t discoverable by a search engine, such as your company intranet, messaging platforms, webmail services or academic databases. Typically, anything that requires a username and password to access.
- Dark web/darknet: The part of the internet that is intentionally hidden and requires a special browser to access. Traffic is routed through a network of several encrypted relays, and pages are hosted anonymously.
The biggest threat is credential compromise. Once an employee’s password is out there, it creates the opportunity for a big payday for criminals.
Once in, even through the tiniest crack, cybercriminals can launch a bigger attack, breaking companies’ defenses to steal more valuable data, lock up their systems or hold companies hostage with ransom demands.
It is estimated that there are 24.6 billion sets of usernames and passwords in circulation on the dark web. That is four for every person on the planet.
When hackers get your employees’ personal information, it’s a double hit to a business. The average person spends 100-200 hours trying to recover from identity theft. Those hours and the stress that ensues often translates into lower productivity at work.
Price to breach your business
How much hackers earn trying to get past your defenses. The cost to hackers is minimal but to businesses, it can be astronomical.
Malware installs
DDOS attacks
To crash your system and lock your records
How Wipfli can help
Wipfli’s cybersecurity team can help you shore up your digital defenses. Whether it’s by scouring the dark web for exposed data or testing the strength of your passwords, we can help. Learn more on our cybersecurity services page.
