What DarkWeb IQ does

DarkWeb IQ is a private, US-based (Astoria) subscription threat-intelligence company operating with 11–50 employees and co-founded/led by CEO Kevin Sherry. It targets enterprise security teams — security operations, threat intelligence, third-party risk management, and incident response functions — at organizations including Fortune 500 banks, global insurers, government agencies, and large universities. The company's stated problem is that conventional security stacks (EDR, SIEM, threat feeds, vulnerability scanners, TPRM tools) only become visible after an attack or after a breach has already been disclosed, leaving organizations blind to pre-attack credential and access compromise.

The company's core product is pre-attack intelligence delivered through three integrated capabilities: Access Interception (undercover operatives embedded in criminal networks who legally purchase stolen access before threat actors can), Infostealer Detection (analyst-vetted alerts on credential compromise from infostealer malware), and Threat Intelligence (real-time, customer-specific alerts when the organization's access appears for sale). Every alert is human-reviewed prior to delivery, and the company provides documented evidence of prevention (listing, purchase, remediation). Reported operational metrics include 2,463 access broker interceptions, 6,000+ victim organizations notified, 632 threat actors engaged, a 96% true-positive rate validated by a Top-5 Global Insurer, and a claim that 50% of surfaced credentials are unique to its feed.

The business model is subscription-based recurring revenue. Go-to-market is product-led via a free "Check My Exposure" self-serve tool on the company website that delivers initial findings by email without requiring a sales interaction, with a stated focus on enterprise buyers. No public pricing tiers, funding history, revenue figures, or formal partnerships are disclosed. Customer concentration spans multiple verticals — banking, insurance, technology, government, and education — with cyber insurance carriers and underwriting functions emerging as a secondary but heavily cultivated segment.

Name

DarkWeb IQ

Legal name

Darkweb IQ

Website

https://darkwebiq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DarkWeb IQ provides subscription-based pre-attack intelligence for enterprise security teams, operating undercover operatives within criminal networks to intercept stolen access credentials before threat actors can purchase them. It serves Fortune 500 banks, insurers, governments, and educational institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Threat Intelligence and Cybersecurity Services

NAICS

Investigation, Guard, and Armored Car Services (56161), Security Systems Services (56162)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Threat Intelligence Services (BPAEADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fraud, Cybercrime Investigations & Brand/Dark Web Monitoring (BPAKAHAO), Security Analytics & Detection Engineering (HDADAGAE), Fraud Risk & Financial Crime Controls Advisory (BPAKADAL)

Keywords

• Dark web threat intelligence
• Pre-attack intelligence
• Credential compromise monitoring
• Access broker interception
• Infostealer detection

Headquarters

HQ city

Astoria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pre-Attack Intelligence Subscription: The company provides subscription-based pre-attack intelligence services where organizations receive vetted alerts about their compromised access being sold on dark web criminal networks. The model includes access interception, analyst-vetted alerts, and documented prevention proof.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

DarkWeb IQ sells a subscription-based pre-attack intelligence service that embeds undercover operatives inside dark-web criminal networks to intercept and legally purchase stolen access credentials before threat actors can acquire them. Alerts are analyst-vetted before delivery and cover three integrated capabilities — Access Interception, Infostealer Detection, and Threat Intelligence — giving customers days-to-weeks of advance warning along with documented evidence of attacks prevented. The service is delivered primarily through a self-serve "Check My Exposure" website tool with email results, targeting enterprise security, insurance, and government buyers.

Product overview

Darkweb IQ offers a unified pre-attack intelligence platform that intercepts stolen access credentials being sold in criminal networks before attackers can use them. The core offering consists of three integrated capabilities: Access Interception (the primary service that purchases stolen access before threat actors), Infostealer Detection (credential compromise alerting), and Threat Intelligence (real-time alerts specific to the customer's organization). All alerts are analyst-vetted before delivery, eliminating raw feeds and noise. The platform provides documented prevention with evidence of attacks stopped, including the listing, purchase, and remediation proof.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Access Interception DarkWeb IQ's flagship pre-attack intelligence service. Undercover operatives embedded in criminal networks identify when a customer's organization access is being sold, legally purchase it before attackers can, and notify the victim so they can patch, rotate credentials, or remove attacker-installed tools. Documented outcomes include 2,463 access-broker interceptions, ransomware prevention for a municipal government, and discovery of a live ScreenConnect intrusion for a state law enforcement customer.
• Infostealer Detection Detection and analyst-vetted alerting service for credentials compromised by infostealer malware. Every alert is reviewed by DarkWeb IQ analysts before delivery to the customer, eliminating the noise typical of infostealer-log feeds. Documented use case: law-enforcement-confirmed compromise at a publicly traded Canadian enterprise software company, with downstream discovery of an active brute-force attack against the customer's Atlassian portal.
• Threat Intelligence Real-time, organization-specific intelligence that alerts customers when their own access is being sold on criminal marketplaces, rather than delivering generic IOC feeds. Supports use cases including security operations (prevention of attacks-in-progress), third-party risk (vendor compromise detected weeks before public disclosure), and vulnerability management (identifying which vulnerabilities criminals are actively exploiting to sell real access).
• Check My Exposure Free, self-serve website tool where a security team enters their domain and DarkWeb IQ checks its intelligence database to show what criminals see when they look at their organization. Results are delivered by email, requiring no sales call and serving as the entry point into DarkWeb IQ's paid pre-attack intelligence subscriptions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% true-positive rate validated by Top-5 Global Insurer
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SpyCloud: Specializes in recaptured dark web data and infostealer logs to power credential exposure, account takeover prevention, and fraud use cases for enterprise security teams. Directly comparable to DarkWeb IQ in infostealer detection and credential compromise alerting.
• Recorded Future: A leading threat intelligence platform that aggregates dark web, open-source, and technical telemetry to deliver intelligence to enterprise security teams and governments. Directly comparable to DarkWeb IQ in serving enterprise SOC and CTI teams, though its primary data collection is automated rather than HUMINT-driven.
• Flashpoint: Specializes in threat intelligence and dark web monitoring with a focus on fraud, credential exposure, and actor insights for enterprise and government clients. Directly comparable to DarkWeb IQ in its emphasis on finished intelligence over raw feeds and its dark web collection capability.
• Cybersixgill: Dark web threat intelligence platform that monitors criminal forums, marketplaces, and messaging channels for leaked credentials, access sales, and threat actor activity. Directly comparable to DarkWeb IQ in product scope (access sale monitoring, infostealer intelligence) and target customer (enterprise SOC and CTI teams).
• Intel 471: Provides threat intelligence with a strong HUMINT component, including embedded researchers in criminal communities, focused on access broker activity, malware, and actor tracking. Most directly comparable to DarkWeb IQ in its HUMINT-driven methodology and enterprise customer base.
• DarkOwl: Provides dark web data, monitoring, and intelligence products with deep collection from criminal forums and marketplaces. Directly comparable to DarkWeb IQ in dark web monitoring and credential/access exposure detection.
• KELA: Provides dark web threat intelligence with automated collection from criminal marketplaces and forums, including access broker activity. Directly comparable to DarkWeb IQ in the access interception and infostealer detection use cases, with similar target buyers in enterprise security.

Broad incumbents

• Mandiant (Google Cloud): A broad incumbent in incident response, threat intelligence, and managed detection, now part of Google Cloud. Overlaps with DarkWeb IQ in threat intelligence and dark web monitoring but operates across a much wider portfolio of cybersecurity services.
• CrowdStrike: A broad incumbent endpoint and security platform that includes threat intelligence and dark web monitoring as part of its Falcon Intelligence suite. Compares to DarkWeb IQ as a much larger incumbent serving enterprise SOC teams with overlapping threat intelligence capabilities.

Emerging players

• GroupSense: A specialized threat intelligence firm with a hybrid automated-plus-analyst approach, focused on dark web monitoring, digital risk protection, and ransomware intelligence for enterprise clients. Compares to DarkWeb IQ as a smaller, focused player with analyst-vetted intelligence delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/darkweb-iq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DarkWeb IQ