Do You Need Dark Web Monitoring?

Data and information security has been a top priority of businesses for years. Firewalls, password policies, and user right limitations help control information flow in and out of your company. Digital credentials such as user names and passwords enable you and your employees to access your business systems and data as well as online services in a way that protects the business from hackers. Passwords are definitely helpful but they are hardly a fool-proof security practice in the world of cyber security. According to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, 81% of hacking-related data breaches involve the use of a weak or stolen password. When using stolen credentials, cyber criminals essentially have a digital key to the front door of your network, making all of your other security precautions worthless. These credentials are often purchased on the Dark Web, and if you aren’t monitoring your company domain your data and your client’s data could be sold to the highest bidder long before you realize there has been a data breach. In this post we will take a deep dive into the Dark Web to discuss:

  • What is the Dark Web?
  • Why is Dark Web Monitoring Important to Your Business?

What is the Dark Web?

Beneath the surface of the visible information accessed and indexed in Search Engines lies the Deep Web. The Deep Web is a massive sublayer of the Internet that is not indexed (and therefore hidden) in search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Within this hidden universe lives a nefarious community called the Dark Web. Many estimate that the Dark Web is 550 times larger than the Surface Web and growing. It’s actually difficult to know for sure how big the Dark Web is. The Dark Web operates differently than the Internet we see every day, or “Surface Web.” Users on the Dark Web use secure browsers, such as Tor, that render their identity and location untraceable. This is accomplished by routing web page requests through numerous proxy servers around the globe which makes IP addresses unidentifiable. The ability to operate anonymously makes the Dark Web an ideal marketplace for stolen data and illegal activity. Experts  estimate that as much as 50% of the data on the Dark Web is illegal or illicit material. In short, it is the last place you want to find your company’s sensitive data. Unfortunately, digital credentials are among the most valuable assets on the Dark Web. An article by CSO from IDG reports that login credentials to a $50,000 bank account could go for $500 while a Netflix premium account login can go for around $6. These risks are not all aimed at personal information and accounts. A 2019 study, Into the Web of Profit, by Dr. Michael McGuires at the University of Surrey shows that the number of dark web listings that could harm an enterprise has risen by 20% since 2016. This can be disastrous for your company.

Why is Dark Web Monitoring Important to Your Business?

Luckily, it is possible to scan the Dark Web and detect credential theft before cybercriminals have the opportunity to hack your system. Our monitoring solution combines human and Dark Web intelligence with search capability to identify, analyze, and proactively monitor your organization’s compromised or stolen data. We can search for stolen email addresses, passwords, and other confidential data in:

  • Private Sites
  • Botnets
  • Peer-to-Peer Networks
  • Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Channels
  • Black Market Websites
  • Social Media
  • Hidden Chatrooms

Montra’s Dark Web services monitor your data and notify you immediately when sensitive information is found on the Dark Web. Then, our team will remediate the situation before any identity theft, data breaches, or other crimes occur. In addition to Dark Web Monitoring, Montra provides employee training, phishing simulation, and Identity Theft protection. This insures your business’ sensitive data is secure. Interested in learning more about our Dark Web Security Services? Download our datasheet

Top Reasons Companies Leave Their MSP

MSPs provide an excellent option for companies looking to improve their overall IT performance without having to invest heavily in internal staff. However, not all MSPs are equal. As the market for Managed Services continues to grow, the pressure on MSPs to meet rising consumer expectations from new performance standards and technologies has surpassed what many Managed Services providers are capable of delivering.

Having been in the Managed Services market for decades, our team knows the common gaps that can lead to poor perceived MSP performance and how to overcome these challenges. In this blog, we cover our list of the top reasons companies leave their MSP for alternative methods of support.

Top 4 Reasons Companies Leave Their MSP

1. Lack of Attention to Proper Security & Compliance Requirements

Security breaches are in the news daily. Because of this, security demands on small and medium sized businesses has never been greater. In the past, most small and medium sized organizations often considered it enough to install a firewall or endpoint solution. But these simple measures aren’t always effective against modern cybersecurity threats. Today’s threats are a constant reminder to all businesses that malicious actors can find ways into a system. In other words, anyone could be a target.

Protecting core data and technology is the leading reason companies seek out MSPs in the first place. Customers expect guidance and support in developing a layered security approach that detects and stops the vast cornucopia of threats. However, many MSPs are struggling to keep up with these increased demands. According to research, nearly one in four SMBs (24 percent) has already changed MSPs in the aftermath of a cyberattack.

2. Lack of Transparency

All businesses today are reliant on technology to operate. This is why many businesses turn to MSPs to support their systems. But business leaders can no longer just “trust their IT guy.” The stakes are too high. Tangible data must be available about the status, availability, and security a business’ IT environment.

Leaders must be able to see work their MSP does on their behalf and understand the state of their systems. Additionally, business leaders need to be able to tie this data back to the cost of outsourcing their IT in the first place. Yet, poor communication has been consistently listed as one of the top reasons that companies leave their MSP.

It’s important to note that lack of data doesn’t mean lack of work. Often it means lack of the customer’s awareness into work done on their systems. Maybe an MSP provides a customer with recommendations for new solutions, options, and technologies that will improve their performance. As a result of this recommendation, uptime and availability improve. However, without data showing improvement, the customer will struggle to tie the changes to any added value to the business.

3. Recurring Issues

One of the promises made by nearly every MSP in the market is the provision of proactive support. However, incidents often will find their way through. Well-run MSPs leverage a combination of comprehensive monitoring systems, sophisticated incident databases, and good client documentation to facilitate the MSP getting to the root of an incident the first time. Recurring issues is a common sign that an MSP is not tracking issues properly.

4. Poor Response Time & Customer Service

Long wait times are consistently one of the top complaints businesses have with their MSP. Businesses hire MSPs to come in and make sure that their technology is taken care of. When something goes wrong, customers expect that their Managed Services provider will work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. A simple network outage could cost a small business thousands of dollars. When an MSP is overstretched, response times and time-to-resolution often suffer as a consequence. Poor response times to critical issues often leaves businesses looking for alternative methods of support.

All these reasons boil down to three underlying causes: quality, value, and preparation. When choosing a MSP to support your business and technical operations, make sure that they are aware of how to avoid these common shortcomings.