ZeroFox, a cybersecurity startup that helps companies identify risks across social media and digital channels, announced that it has acquired dark web intelligence firm Vigilante.
See also: Deep and Dark Web: How to dive into the dark parts of the web?
Vigilante, not to be confused with the controversial crime reporting app, searches the dark web for information that helps protect organizations from cyberattacks. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will see ZeroFox take over Vigilante’s global team of operators and analysts to create the “most robust” solution for the dark web.
Based on Vigilante’s Dark Web monitoring tools, the joint solution will combine datasets from the two companies to provide risk intelligence on compromised credentials and botnets, network intelligence on infected and vulnerable hosts, and threat actor and indicator of compromise (IOC) intelligence. The product, which will have ZeroFox’s AI processing capabilities built in, will also provide botnet, threat tracking, and customer-specific investigations.
See also: Mobile attacks continue to increase after the pandemic
The acquisition, which the companies claim will help better protect organizations on an even larger scale, comes amid a huge increase in criminal activity on the dark web, according to recent research, which is largely due to the pandemic.
“The Dark Web and the criminal underground are critical requirements of modern intelligence programs,” said James C. Foster, CEO of ZeroFox. “Our clients need a clear picture of the underground economy, how bots might be attacking them or whether their credentials, personally identifiable information (PII) and other information could be exchanged there, as well as an understanding of emerging tactics, exploits and vulnerabilities.”
See also: 30-year-old arrested for selling health workers' data on the dark web
Foster said the acquisition of Vigilante increases the “scale and completeness” of its dark web intelligence collection capabilities, which helps protect customer information.
