10 November 2021

Stolen data spreads 11 times faster on the dark web today than it did six years ago, a new study has found. Conducted by cybersecurity vendor Bitglass, the report concludes that the dark web, the part of the World Wide Web only accessible by means of special software, has become darker, busier, and more widespread than ever before. Bitglass reached this conclusion by recreating an experiment carried out in 2015 and comparing the results. Researchers listed links to fake files with supposedly stolen credentials on various dark web marketplaces.

These boobytrapped files helped the researchers keep tabs on the files as they circulated on the dark web, gathering valuable insight into the dynamics of the underground marketplace.