Let’s start with the basics: What is the dark web? The dark web is inaccessible through standard web browsers. These dark web sites use tools like Tor and I2P to hide their IP address. Here, it is not uncommon for cyber criminals to sell your personal information for a profit.
So what’s the going rate for your online accounts and personal information on the dark web? LogDog recently released a report that exposed just how inexpensive these credentials are being sold for.
- Email accounts, like Gmail and Yahoo: Around $1
- Amazon accounts: Around $1
- Uber accounts: $1-$2
- Netflix accounts: $1-$2
- Twitter accounts: Usually $2-$3
- Social Security numbers: About $1
While you may not feel especially concerned that someone is riding around racking up charges on your Uber account, the real danger here is password reuse. We’ve talked about this topic a lot on the blog. With so many online accounts to keep up with these days, consumers fall victim to password fatigue and reuse the same password across multiple accounts. If a hacker gains access to one of your accounts, they will test those same credentials across other sensitive sites, like your email or banking website.
Now more than ever, it is critical that consumers create long, strong and unique passwords for their online accounts. Use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters for the strongest passwords.
For more passwords tips, read our blog on how to create strong passwords.