A local cybersecurity expert said the dark web is a dangerous place for personal information and a marketplace for criminals.
Potential Cookeville Regional employee and patient information discovered on the dark web earlier this week. Rich Van Etten said criminals use this information in a variety of ways.
“They’ll sell a list of credit cards, you know, to a crime organization who will then run up charges on your account, or try to steal your identity,” Van Etten said. “Maybe get a loan using your credit, you know, for a new car or a yacht, or what have you.”
Van Etten said stolen personal information can be used in cases of corporate espionage to paint a negative picture of an individual or a company. Van Etten said criminal activity thrives on the dark web because it is harder for authorities to track people.
“They use different technology, so it makes it very hard for authorities to identify where that traffic is coming from,” Van Etten said. “I mean it’s not that they can’t, it just, it makes that investigative process a lot harder.”
Van Etten said, unfortunately, once someone’s information is stolen, there is no way to prevent it from being distributed. Van Etten said people can see if their information is on the dark web by subscribing to a service that scans the dark web for information. Van Etten also said many credit bureaus offer similar services.
Van Etten said if you are concerned that your information may have been stolen, the first thing you need to do is change your passwords. Van Etten said people tend to use the same credentials for various accounts, like Amazon and Netflix
“The problem with that is if one of those sites has a breach, now you have a group that’s got a set of credentials, and what do you think they are gonna do with that?” Van Etten said. “They are gonna take that and use it in every login form that they can find.”
Van Etten said it is not safe to be on the dark web. Van Etten said internet service providers are required to monitor to activity of their customers. Van Etten said if an internet provider notices illegal or suspicious activity, they are obligated to report that to authorities.
Items like birth certificates, credit card information, driver’s licenses, photo IDs, and among other things, can be found for sale on the dark web, Van Etten said.
