DEFENSE AGENCIES HAVE BIG PRESENCE ON THE DARKNET

U.S. defense agencies ranked higher than non-defense agencies for the amount of stolen data available in the online underworld where cyber criminals often hawk stolen credit cards, according to a report by Denver’s Owl Cybersecurity.

From employee passwords to intellectual property, the amount of compromised data surprised Owl cyber sleuths who analyze data captured from private networks known as the darknet. Data linked to the Navy, Army and Department of Defense had the three largest footprints on the darknet, though they were smaller than those of some major corporations scored in an earlier study.

“It wasn’t a surprise that it was out there. But what was surprising was the volume of data out there. It was also surprising that defense (agencies) had the highest amount,” said Andrew Lewman, Owl’s vice president who previously worked as executive director the Tor Project. “They’re very good at protecting our shores. … But they’re not so great about protecting their credentials.”