Shining a Light On The Dark Web

**Editor’s Note: Register now for Channel Partners Evolution, Sept. 25-28, in Austin, Texas.**

Most people have no idea that about 90 percent of internet content is inaccessible from standard browsers because it’s in the deep web, where Google’s spider bots don’t venture.

A subset of that is the dark web — where personal and corporate data is bought and sold, and organized crime and nation-state actors operate.

CyberRisk Solutions’ Bryant Tow

During a presentation titled, “Shining Light on the Dark Web,” at Channel Partners Evolution, Sept. 25-28, in Austin, Texas, Bryant Tow, managing partner at CyberRisk Solutions, will explain how the dark web works, what it means to businesses and ways to manage the threat it could represent.

In a Q&A with Channel Partners, Tow gives a sneak peak of the information he plans to share with attendees.

Channel Partners: What would people be surprised to know about the dark web?

Bryant Tow: It has been estimated that over 85 percent of internet traffic happens in the dark/deep web. As common as the internet has become in our everyday business and personal lives, that amount is staggering.

CP: How does the dark web work?

BT: To keep traffic from being visible, or dark, special internet browsers contain specific encryption techniques and anonymize themselves by making several indiscriminate “hops” between the endpoints that hide communication from the rest of the world. There are multiple levels of the dark. The terms deep web and dark web have been used interchangeably since the beginning. The deep web has special search engines for dark markets, illegal sites, etc., but the dark web is where organized crime, human trafficking, weapons and nation-state actors do their work.

CP: Is the dark web a threat to businesses of all types and sizes? How?

BT: The dark web is perceived as a primary concern for law enforcement but is not really a threat to business. Many of the operation points for the illegal activity reside on unprotected business networks. Criminals are happy to use free bandwidth, processing power and storage.

CP: How can businesses protect themselves from the dark web? How can the channel help businesses?

BT: Most business(es) see security as an IT function and do not protect 55 percent of their attack surface. The overwhelming majority of the breaches we deal with are caused by a lack of protection of people, process and facilities … that lead to the technology. Our channel partners benefit greatly by offering a “ring of protection” approach they cannot get from a pure technology sales company.

CP: What do you hope attendees learn and take away from your session?

BT: Security is not just an IT problem. Today’s resilient business needs a channel partner that can support them from all of the attack vectors, and the market is starving for those services.