Introduced by Proton Mail Dark Web Monitoring for its paid users, this will notify them of any breaches or leaks that may affect them. If anything is detected on the dark web, the feature will send alerts containing information such as what service was compromised, what personal information the attackers obtained (such as passwords, name, etc.) and recommended next steps. Initially, you’ll need to visit the Proton Mail Security Center on the web or desktop to access these alerts, but the company says email and in-app notifications are on the way.
Dark Web Monitoring is intended to be a proactive security measure. If you’ve used your Proton Mail email address to sign up for a third-party service, such as a social media site, and then hackers steal user information from that service, it will let you know in a timely manner if you have your credentials. he compromised so he could (hopefully) act before any damage was done. It seems like the right move for a service that already offers end-to-end encryption and has made privacy a key position from the start. Dark Web Monitoring will not be available to free users.
“While data breaches from third-party sites that leak personal information (such as your email address) can never be completely prevented, automated early warning can help users stay vigilant and mitigate worse side effects such as identity theft,” said Eamonn Maguire, at Proton Head of Anti-Abuse and Account Security.
