Dark web leak sites are specialized websites and e-commerce marketplaces that cybercriminals use to illegally share sensitive data. These websites allow threat actors to publish stolen data while preventing law enforcement agencies from easily identifying them. Some allow cybercriminals to buy and sell data, often using cryptocurrency. 

What is the Dark Web? 

The Dark Web is part of the internet that is not easily accessible to regular users and search engines. Websites on the Dark Web are only accessible through specialized anonymous web browsers like Tor. 

The Tor network is made up of anonymized websites called onion sites. They are called onion sites because they are wrapped in multiple layers of encrypted routing between random servers. These layers are very difficult to unravel, making surveillance and tracking impractical. 

Dark Web vs. Deep Web explained 

Both terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they refer to two different things: 

• The Deep Web refers to all websites and content that is not immediately available to the public. Any web-based application you access with a username and password is part of the Deep Web. 

• The Dark Web is intentionally hidden from everyday users. Accessing these websites without using an onion routing protocol like Tor is not possible. 

How to access Dark Web Leak Sites 

To access a Dark Web leak site, you must first download the Tor browser and install it. Once you are connected to the Tor network, you can access Dark Web marketplaces and leak sites by typing in their .onion URL. 

Since Dark Web leak sites are not indexed by search engines, you’ll have to find the exact URL for the website you want to visit. For example, the New York Times maintains a Dark Web site at the following address: https://www.nytimesn7cgmftshazwhfgzm37qxb44r64ytbb2dj3x62d2lljsciiyd.onion/  

If a threat actor or ransomware group has threatened to publish your data on the Dark Web, they will typically provide a similar .onion address for you to verify. If they don’t, it’s possible they don’t actually have any compromised data to publish—meaning the threat is in fact a bluff. 

Why Does the Dark Web Exist? 

Although cybercriminals use it for illegal activities, the Dark Web itself is not illegal. Like many security and privacy tools, the Dark Web has multiple uses. Some of these include: 

• Freedom of speech. It provides a channel for uncensored speech to people who live under oppressive governments. 

• Whistleblowing protection. It helps activists and whistleblowers maintain their anonymity when calling out powerful organizations and authorities. 

• Anonymous information sharing. It facilitates the secure exchange of information between informants, journalists, law enforcement agents and national intelligence operatives. 

However, the same anonymity that protects informants and whistleblowers also protects cybercriminals. When the Dark Web is combined with blockchain-enabled cryptocurrency technology, it gives criminals a robust set of tools for making secure transactions without compromising their anonymity. 

What kinds of marketplaces exist on the Dark Web? 

There are thousands of active marketplace websites on the Dark Web. Through these, an enormous variety of illegal services are made available to customers who know how to access them. Some examples include:  

• Verified cryptocurrency accounts. These are usually clean accounts ready to use for money laundering and other illicit purposes. 

• Credit card numbers and other financial data. Cybercriminals often sell these in bulk. The larger the number of individual records purchased, the greater the discount. 

• Stolen credentials. These include everything from employee login information stolen directly from well-known organizations to bulk email logins collected from other breaches. 

• Fake identities and passports. Counterfeiters create and sell false identities for a variety of purposes, from criminal identity theft to human trafficking. 

• Illegal drugs. The Dark Web has several high-profile marketplaces for illegal drugs, with global distribution available through national post and commercial courier services—who don’t know what they’re transporting. 

 Among these, stolen employee credentials are a top concern for enterprise IT leaders. Many organizations invest in digital risk solutions that trigger alerts when employee data is published for sale on known Dark Web marketplaces. 

Here are some examples of typical Dark Web leak scenarios 

Many different types of cyber attacks use the Dark Web, often in different ways. Some of the data you might find on Dark Web leak sites include: 

• Employee or customer data. Hackers will readily exploit your organization’s responsibility to maintain employee and customer privacy. If they gain access to sensitive data, they may threaten to publish it if you do not pay. Even if you do, they may post the data for sale anyways. 

• Internal documents or intellectual properties. Internal documents from reputable companies can fetch high sums on Dark Web marketplaces. These may also be published for free as part of a ransomware double extortion attack. 

• Scraped public data. Names, profile IDs and emails from popular platforms are sold on the Dark Web. Hackers often scrape this data from public social media sites and other large-scale communities. 

• Infrastructure access. These records usually include compromised access points like remote desktop agents or virtualization platforms. Hackers avoid mentioning the names of the target companies in their posts, preferring instead to describe them by country, industry, market capitalization, and other factors. 

• Compromised account credentials. Some hackers sell compromised accounts as an initial point of entry. These accounts may be part of a public leak or the product of intentional phishing and social engineering. 

Make Dark Web monitoring part of your security posture 

Security leaders use Dark Web monitoring to proactively respond to leaks and data breaches before hackers can capitalize on them. Digital risk solutions like ZeroFox give organizations a valuable edge against attackers who successfully exfiltrate data. 

 Lumifi leverages its partnerships to provide unlimited visibility into the enterprise attack surface, and that includes triggering alerts when hackers publish company information on the Dark Web. Be the first to know when employee credentials and customer data is posted for sale. Protect your users from insider threats and credential-based attacks with our help.