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Proton, the company behind secure products like Proton Mail and Proton Pass, has announced a new feature for Proton Mail users: Dark Web Monitoring. This latest feature, designed specifically for paying users of the Proton Mail app and web, aims to fortify account security by alerting users to potential credential leaks on the dark web.
The Dark Web Monitoring feature operates as a complementary layer to Proton Mail’s robust encryption protocols, providing users with timely notifications in case of a breach involving a third-party service where their Proton Mail email address may have been used for registration.
This will allow users to swiftly respond to potential data compromises, reducing the risks of identity theft and fraudulent activities. Proton has partnered with Constella Intelligence to augment further the ability to detect and respond to potential security incidents.
The Dark Web is a clandestine realm notorious for the illicit trade of stolen credentials and sensitive information. By leveraging advanced scanning algorithms, Dark Web Monitoring identifies instances where a user’s Proton email address has surfaced in compromised datasets, enabling immediate alerts and actionable insights for users.
“The dark web is rife with leaked information, data, and credential dumps, all of which are commonly traded, and pose significant risks to users, from identity fraud, to account takeovers and reputation damage,” said Eamon Maguire, Head of Anti-Abuse and Account Security at Proton. “While data breaches of third-party sites leading to the leak of personal information (such as your email address) can never be entirely avoided, automated early warning can help users stay vigilant and mitigate worse side effects such as identity theft.”
The significance of such a feature becomes apparent in light of recent rampant cyber threats facing individuals and organisations globally. Only recently, the data of more than 7.5 million boAT users was leaked. Cisco Duo’s SMS MFA logs were also exposed to the world due to a third-party data leak. In January, researchers discovered a massive trove of 26 billion records from various services, including Dropbox, LinkedIn, and X.
Proton has been upgrading its customers’ digital security offerings. In November 2023, Proton introduced the Proton Sentinel, an advanced security layer, to Proton Pass. In October, Proton announced a new Secure Password Sharing feature allowing users to share confidential information.
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