An overview of how data reaches dark web marketplaces through third-party breaches and infostealer malware, examining the distinction between the deep and dark web and how compromised credentials circulate.
There is a common confusion between the dark web and the deep web. The deep web includes everything on the internet that is not indexed by public search engines, such as personal email inboxes or banking pages. This part is used by everyone every day with a simple browser and is completely safe. In contrast, the dark web is a specific, smaller part that requires special software, such as the Tor Browser, and uses addresses that end in .onion.
How does your data get there?
Most people believe that to find their information on the dark web, they have to visit it themselves. The reality is completely different. Personal data ends up there when a company, store, healthcare provider, employer, or bank that held your information falls victim to a security breach.
Additionally, dangerous spyware that infiltrates devices silently collects stored passwords and login data. This data is packaged and sold as data packages on illegal forums and communication channels.
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Can the data be removed?
Once information appears on a dark web marketplace, it is copied almost immediately. There is no way to permanently delete it from everywhere. The right approach is not to attempt to delete it, but to make the exposed data useless to those who found it.
What you can do to protect yourself
You can check if your email has been exposed to known leaks using address checking tools, such as Have I Been Pwned.
The main defense against exposed data is to change passwords and enable two-step authentication on every service that supports it, so that the data becomes useless to those who obtained it.
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