Netgear reveals new dark web monitoring tool that will tell you if your personal data appears online
- New dark web monitoring service launched for Netgear customers
- Netgear Dark Web Monitoring is available on Netgear routers that support its Armor and Armor Plus plans
- Expert analysis of the dark web shows there are more than 15 billion personal records available for purchase
Netgear has announced a new service that tracks the dark web and notifies you when your stolen data is found hidden in someone else’s database.
Announced as part of its Armor and Armor Plus plans, the Dark Web Monitoring service is available to subscribers through the Netgear app.
The dark web is the hidden realm of the Internet where various transactions take place “out of sight.” While it has legitimate uses (such as dissidents accessing resources through Tor), it also hosts a black market for data, typically stolen from large organizations, companies, and governments in successful hacking attempts.
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Data owners must be notified by law when their information is stolen. However, it’s often not until personal information (and more valuable data, like company secrets or software engines) hits the dark web that companies realize they’ve been hacked. This makes dark web monitoring services, like Netgear’s new feature, particularly attractive.
Netgear’s service adds to its existing collection of tools for Armor and Armor Plus subscribers. These include malware and exploit protection, intrusion, anomaly and DDoS detection and protection, and a VPN with adblock and anti-tracking.
The dark web monitoring feature adds to this by offering continuous monitoring of the dark web for emails, phone numbers and financial details lost during a data breach. National Insurance figures are also monitored.
If something is found, Netgear Dark Web Monitoring sends alerts and recommends actions. It also provides an identity protection score to illustrate exposure, and as households improve their security, the tool tracks their progress.
Find exposed data
While free services can uncover data that has been exposed in data breaches, the dark web is home to stolen information that may not yet be revealed. This could be because the organization that has been hacked has not been able to share the breach with its customers, or because they do not even know it has happened.
This makes an active monitoring service like Netgear Dark Web Monitoring particularly valuable.
“Most people think of network security as something that happens inside their home,” said Jonathan Oakes, senior vice president and general manager of NETGEAR’s home networking business. “But your data could end up exposed somewhere else, in a breach at a company you’ve never dealt with directly. Monitoring the Dark Web means finding out while there’s still time to act.”
Netgear Dark Web Monitoring is available with its routers’ Armor ($99/year) and Armor Plus ($149.99/year) plans, available for purchase through the Netgear app.
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