What is the dark web?

The dark web is a portion of the internet accessible only through special software such as Tor, where users and services operate anonymously. While it has legitimate uses, it also hosts criminal marketplaces — including ransomware-as-a-service operations, stolen-data leak sites, and sales of stolen credentials and initial access.

For ransomware, the dark web is where double-extortion leak sites publish stolen data and where affiliates obtain tooling. Reducing an attacker’s leverage — by guaranteeing clean recovery, as Elastio does — limits the value of that ecosystem against you.