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Research Finds That 62% Of Security Teams Don’t Have Adequate Tools and Training for Dark Web Detection

Security teams may not be as protected as they think when it comes to dark web monitoring and detection. New research finds that only 38% of security practitioners say they’re likely to detect their organization’s private data if it was released on the dark web.

Israeli dark web intelligence firm KELA has announced the findings of its “State of Cybercrime Threat Intelligence 2022” report. The report, which surveyed 400 security practitioners in the US who are responsible for gathering cyber threat intelligence daily, shares insights into the state of their dark web cybercrime threat intelligence programs.

A main focus of the report centers around how efficient security teams are when it comes to monitoring the dark web for threats and cybercriminal activity. Many security teams find themselves lacking the tools and the expertise to keep their organizations safe from emerging dark web threats.

Only 38% of security practitioners surveyed say they have the tools and expertise to be able to detect their organization’s private data if it was released on the dark web. 62% are unsure if they could: 32% believe that they’re only somewhat likely to detect their data if released, and 30% believe they’re not very likely to detect it at all.

Additionally, 52% of respondents said that they wouldn’t be surprised to find their organization’s data had been released on the dark web, signally that they’re aware their organization isn’t as protected as it should be.

Contributing to this inability to detect data on the dark web is the top challenges of having no system or browser isolation to access the dark web securely, placing their current system at risk of compromise. Other challenges include a lack of training or experience in dark web investigations, and a lack of support from the organization.

Ultimately, only 41% of security practitioners believe their current approach is very effective at monitoring the dark web.

“We found organizations may be less prepared for threats emerging from the cybercrime underground than they should be,” said David Carmiel, CEO of KELA. “At KELA, our extensive intelligence expertise has shown us just how complex the cybercrime underground really is. The threats are much more comprehensive, and what organizations know and refer to as the dark web is changing within the hour. With these findings, we hope to proactively educate the security community about the state and future of cybercrime so they can stay ahead of the curve.”

Security practitioners say that in order to be successful in the future, they would need additional training and proficiency in dark web investigations, and the ability to quickly access the dark web in a secure and non-attributional manner.

The report determines that security teams looking to strengthen their dark web cybercrime threat intelligence program not only need secure networks and dedicated machines that can access the dark web safely. They also need analysts trained in how to conduct dark web investigations in order to be successful.

 

Staff Writer at CPO Magazine