What is data breach monitoring?
Data breach monitoring is the process of continuously scanning the deep and dark web, as well as other sources, such as Telegram channels. It helps detect various types of exposed data, such as credentials, emails, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and other personally identifiable information (PII). A data breach check helps the company contain threats in a timely manner and prevent further damage.
How does data breach monitoring work?
Here’s how data breach monitoring works:
Data collection
Data is collected from various sources, such as the deep and dark web, Telegram channels, ransomware blogs, and threat actor communities.
Data enrichment
Relevant context, such as the breach source, date, and impacted data points, is added to enrich the collected data.
Monitoring and alerting
Continuous monitoring alerts the company when employee or consumer data is exposed.
Analysis and remediation
Leaked data is analysed to identify affected employees and consumers, and respond appropriately.
Detect data breaches before cybercriminals harm your business
A single leaked password can lead to serious issues for a company. You can face serious cyber incidents, exposed consumer data, and significant financial losses due to reputational damage and regulatory fines. But you can prevent the damage with NordStellar’s data breach monitoring.
Data breach monitoring helps you detect compromised employee and consumer data, and identify company devices infected with malware before cybercriminals can exploit them.
What information can be exposed in a data breach?
A data leak can expose various types of sensitive information:
Personal Identifiable Information (PII)
Full name, home address, phone number, date of birth, Social Security number, and government-issued IDs.
Financial information
Credit card details, bank account numbers, transaction history, and billing addresses.
Login credentials
Usernames, passwords, tokens, security questions, and active session cookies.
Medical records
Patient health data, insurance details, and prescription history.
Corporate data
Trade secrets, business strategies, client information, and intellectual property.
Employee data
Payroll data, tax information, and internal communications.
Consumer data
Email addresses, purchase history, and support interactions.
How could NordStellar’s data breach monitoring help your business?
As a data breach monitoring solution, NordStellar can identify compromised data and alert you in real time.
Leaked credentials put your employees and consumers at risk of fraud, account takeovers, and serious security incidents. NordStellar helps you quickly detect compromised employee accounts and exposed consumer credentials from data breaches, credential dumps, and malware attacks. It enables you to quickly reduce the risk of further cyber threats by taking the necessary security measures.
Info-stealer malware can silently extract employee credentials, cookies, autofill information, and sensitive company data. NordStellar enables your security team to detect infected devices, contain the threat, and take action to prevent further data leaks or cyberattacks.
Many cyberattacks, such as whalephishing, target high-ranking company employees. Prevent these threats by monitoring mentions for company and personal email addresses of your executive team and get alerts if their PII appears on the dark web.
Ransomware attacks can cripple business operations and cause critical data loss. NordStellar enables you to proactively detect signs of ransomware exposure, identify compromised devices, and respond to emerging threats efficiently. By continuously monitoring your assets and swiftly alerting your security teams, you can mitigate ransomware risks and ensure business continuity.
Benefits of using data breach monitoring services
NordStellar’s breach monitoring offers lots of benefits:
Comprehensive coverage
Data breach detection tools provide leak detection, threat alerts, access to one of the largest deep and dark web data pools in the industry, and comprehensive reports to help you prevent various risks.
Risk evaluation and prioritization
Evaluate the severity of each breach and help your team focus on the most urgent risks first.
Real-time alerts
Continuous monitoring helps spot weaknesses before cybercriminals exploit them. Get alerts about leaked credentials early and take action.
Easy integration
Software is easy to implement even into existing security systems.
How security teams can use NordStellar’s data breach monitoring
CRO, CSO, CTO
CISOs and other C-level managers
Gain real-time visibility, quantify risks, and align security efforts with business goals. Easily communicate the impact of security initiatives to the board with clear, actionable insights.
IT security managers, SecOps, CSIRT, CERT, SOC
Operational teams
Cut through threat intelligence noise with contextualized insights tailored to your organization. Manage day-to-day operations, accelerate threat detection, and ensure rapid incident response.
threat intelligence, vulnerability management, red team, forensics
Specialized teams
Focus on what matters most by identifying relevant threats and vulnerabilities. Track adversaries, secure critical systems, and ensure your defenses are always one step ahead.
Explore more security solutions from NordStellar
NordStellar lets your cybersecurity team patch critical vulnerabilities and intervene at the earliest stages of an attack – before any real damage is done.
Dark web monitoring allows you to track all keywords associated with your business across deep and dark web communities, such as hacker forums, illicit marketplaces, and Telegram channels. It helps you uncover brand mentions, issues with vendors, and leaked information about your VIP personnel.
Attack surface management (ASM) helps you monitor your business's external attack surface to prevent potential cyber risks. It lets you efficiently manage your company's internet-facing assets, such as IP addresses with open ports and outdated technologies, by identifying vulnerabilities and security gaps within them.
Cybersquatting detection helps you recognize and prevent threat actors from impersonating your brand. Using content and visual similarity algorithms enriched with AI, NordStellar can detect various domain manipulations and issue real-time alerts, providing a detailed view of each suspicious domain.
FAQ
A data breach is any security incident in which an unauthorized party gains access to private, sensitive, or confidential information. Types of data breaches include credential leaks, financial data theft, and personal information exposure.
A data breach is a very serious security issue often leading to legal penalties, loss of consumer trust, and financial damage. Without a data leak monitoring system, assessing the true scope of the damage can be difficult.
Data breaches can happen for many reasons. For example, weak credentials can be easily guessed or given away during a phishing attack. A phishing attack can also expose sensitive data. Some other reasons include malware, unpatched software vulnerabilities, human error and third-party vendor vulnerabilities, and misconfigured security settings.
Recovering from any cyber incident, such as a data breach, depends on its severity. According to IBM, it often takes around 204 days to identify a data breach and an additional 73 days to contain it. In cases where credentials were stolen, the timeline often extends further.
If your company experiences a data breach, acting fast and containing the breach must be your priority. This means isolating affected systems, disabling compromised accounts, and restricting unauthorized access. Then, you’ll need to assess the situation and take steps to prevent it in the future:
- Assess the damage.
- Notify relevant stakeholders.
- Investigate and document the breach.
- Strengthen security measures.
- Report to authorities.
- Use data leak monitoring to continuously check for data breaches.