Dark Web Credential Monitoring

VeritGuard Knowledge Base  |  Elite Plan

If your firm is on the VeritGuard Elite plan, your email addresses are continuously monitored for exposure on the dark web. This article explains what dark web monitoring is, what alerts mean, and what to do if your credentials are found in a breach.

In This Article

1. What Is Dark Web Monitoring?
2. How Does It Work?
3. I Received a Dark Web Alert
4. How to Prevent Future Exposure
5. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Is Dark Web Monitoring?

The "dark web" refers to parts of the internet that are not indexed by search engines and require special software to access. When companies experience data breaches, the stolen data -- including email addresses, passwords, credit card numbers, and personal information -- is often posted or sold on dark web forums.

Dark web monitoring continuously scans these forums and data dumps for your firm's email addresses. If a match is found, it means one of your email/password combinations has been exposed in a third-party breach -- and attackers may attempt to use those credentials to access your work systems.

2. How Does It Work?

Here is what happens behind the scenes:

1. Verito registers your firm's email domain(s) for monitoring.
2. Our monitoring tool continuously scans dark web marketplaces, data dump sites, paste sites, and hacker forums for your email addresses.
3. When a match is found, our team is alerted and will contact you with details about the exposure and recommended actions.

No action is required from you -- the monitoring runs automatically in the background. You will only hear from us if something is found.

3. I Received a Dark Web Alert

1. Change your password immediately using 1Password. Generate a new, unique password that you have not used anywhere else.
2. Change the password on any other site where you used the same or similar password. This is the most common way attackers exploit breaches -- they take a password from one site and try it on dozens of others (known as "credential stuffing").
3. Verify that MFA is enabled on the affected account. If an attacker has your password but you have MFA turned on, they still cannot get in without your second factor.
4. Monitor for unusual activity on the affected accounts over the next few days. If you notice anything strange (unexpected emails sent from your account, password reset notifications you didn't request, logins from unknown locations), contact Verito Support immediately.

4. How to Prevent Future Exposure

You cannot control whether a third-party site gets breached. But you can control how much damage it causes if it does:

1. Never reuse passwords. Use 1Password to generate a unique password for every site and service. If one password is compromised, the damage is limited to that single site.
2. Avoid using your work email for personal accounts. If you can, use a personal email address for non-work services (shopping, social media, travel bookings). This reduces the chance that your work email shows up in a consumer data breach.
3. Enable MFA everywhere possible. Even if a password is compromised, MFA ensures the attacker cannot access the account without your second authentication factor.
4. Complete your cybersecurity training. The training modules cover how to recognize phishing attempts and social engineering attacks that often follow a credential leak.

5. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does this mean someone hacked our firm?

Almost certainly not. A dark web alert means your email and possibly a password were found in a third-party data breach (e.g., a breached online service you signed up for using your work email). It does not mean your firm's systems were compromised.

Q: Can Verito remove my credentials from the dark web?

No. Once data is posted on the dark web, it cannot be removed. That is why changing your password immediately is the priority -- it renders the exposed credentials useless.

Q: Will I be alerted every time there's a finding?

Yes. Our team is notified of every match and will reach out to the affected user with specific guidance on what to change and what to watch for.

Q: I'm not on the Elite plan. Can I still get dark web monitoring?

Dark web monitoring is included with the VeritGuard Elite plan. It can also be added as an a-la-carte service for other plan tiers. Contact Verito Support or your account manager for details.

Q: Is there anything I need to do to enable monitoring?

No. Verito sets up dark web monitoring for your firm's email domain(s) as part of Elite plan onboarding. It runs continuously in the background with no action required from you.