According to the latest "Darknet Index" report from Denver-based cybersecurity firm DarkOwl, Fortune 500 companies are continuing to expose a large amount of data in 2019.
By calculating the size of the darknet footprint of each organization, researchers at DarkOwl re-ranked these companies and revealed some compelling insights.
An average Fortune 500 company is now likely to be three times more exposed on the dark web than in previous years.
The Darknet Index
The "Darknet Index" is an annual report collected by DarkOwl that uses darknet intelligence to rank each company based on their exposure on the dark web.
This means that every year, DarkOwl compares the dark web footprints of these companies and ranks them according to the results.
To measure the data for the Darknet Index, DarkOwl calculates a "DARKINT Score" for every company, using their DarkOwl Vision database.
The methodology for scoring adapts for vulnerability. This means that the index actually measures the likelihood of the company's data being used for criminal activity.
In the final score, the quantity and the recency of the results are also included. The result ultimately represents the company's overall exposure on the dark web.
In a press statement, DarkOwl CEO Mark Turnage said that the firm's researchers can measure the presence of each company on the dark web using the DARKINT Scores and estimate the impact of this on their cybersecurity.
Insights From the 2019 Fortune 500 Edition
This year's study is the third release of DARKINT and has demonstrated a significant presence of company data on the dark web.
Among the scored companies on the list, you can find Apple, ranked second, Verizon, ranked fifth, and Dell Technologies, ranked sixth.
Compared to the 2018 report, average scores show that there is now over three times more information from Fortune 500 organizations on the dark web, representing an increasing trend that is concerning from a security perspective.
According to this year's report, telecommunications and technology companies account for the five highest scoring firms.
This serves as an indication that these sectors are most attractive to cybercriminals, or that they need to increase their focus on cybersecurity.
The largest darknet footprint came from Frontier Communications, the same company that ranked first last year.
In contrast, financial companies ranked lower on the list this year with Wells Fargo coming in first at number 12.
In 2018, three of the top ten rankings belonged to financial companies.
This presence on the darkweb is a cause for concern for the companies involved, as higher scores relate to a higher likelihood of security breaches which can be monetized by cybercriminals.
However, there is more than just security to be concerned about. DarkOwl found a possible correlation between declining stock prices and higher DARKINT Scores.
Since the last analysis, the broader stock market witnessed a loss of 2 percent, while the top 50 DARKINT ranked companies lost an average of 8.1 percent.
