What Happens to Your Information Following a Breach?

We talk all the time about protecting yourself and your company from hackers and attacks and how to respond to an attack. But what really happens when an attacker hijacks your information? Where does it go? We will give you some insider knowledge so that you can begin to understand the dangers of a security breach.

The Deep Web is where most of this buying and selling of information takes place. Hackers use underground web forums that operate remarkably similar to online or above ground retailers such as Amazon. Different users sell different information, you can rate the sellers, and read previous negotiations or reviews. Most of the underground forums are accessible through traditional web browsers on the open web. However, there is a portion of them still operating on the dark web – only accessible through specialized encryption software and browser protocols.

The information they sell can range from Facebook or Twitter usernames and passwords to lists of CVV codes of credit cards, to bank information and subscription services such as Hulu and Netflix. Sensitive company information, files, bank account logins etc. can also be put up for sale. Hackers can buy malware and infected software from the dark web as well.

Hackers don’t pay for this information through traditional means. A transaction typically involves an electronic mechanism such as bitcoin or Web Money. The different “ratings and reviews” tell a buyer if the seller can be trusted or not to deliver results. Personal information can sell for as low as $1 on the dark web.

The reason it is so hard to track down the people behind the dark web is because it is so heavily encrypted it is hard to detect the owner and location of the seller. Once a user buys your information from the dark web, there is no end to the access they have.

So now you know where your information goes when you are hacked. Once it’s out there, there’s no getting it back, so make sure you are taking all the necessary precautions and steps to prevent you and your company from exposing information to hackers and the deep web.