Many CIOs (CISOs) are worried about the threats of the dark web, but doing little about it, according to a new report published by Searchlight Cyber.
The dark web intelligence firm recently surveyed over a thousand CISOs working in large enterprises and found that 93% of them are worried about dark web threats, and 72% consider information on cybercriminals to be “critical” in efforts to protect their organization’s endpoints (opens in a new tab) and data from hackers.
But other than gathering intelligence on these groups, their tools, networks, MOs and the like – they don’t really do much about it.
Worthwhile
That being said, researchers say 71% of CISOs would like to see if their providers are being attacked on the dark web. In fact, only a third (32%) of dark web intelligence gatherers use it to search for attacks on their supply chain.
For Ben Jones, CEO and co-founder of Searchlight Cyber, companies have a lot of work ahead of them, but it can pay off: and a better security posture,” he said.
“For UK businesses that have not identified an intelligence opportunity on the dark web, the results make it clear: gathering intelligence on the dark web will help them better understand their adversaries and increase their chances of detecting an attack.”
Analyzing the results, the researchers found that companies across industries respond differently to threats from the dark web. Most of the financial industry (85%) already collect data from the dark web, while the medical industry lags behind with 57%. The oil and gas industry could also do better, as only two-thirds (66%) of CISOs say they collect data from the dark web.
As a result, CISOs are not as confident in stopping cyberattacks as they could be. Just 60% of healthcare CISOs and 74% of those in the oil and gas industry believe they have a proper understanding of their opponents’ profile, well below the industry standard of 77%.
“It’s imperative that these organizations start monitoring the dark web, spot the early warning signs of an attack, and improve their security posture based on a better understanding of their adversaries,” Jones concluded.
- Remove viruses and malware with the best malware removal tool (opens in a new tab)