Dark and Darker: What is The Dark Web ?
The dark web is the hidden part of the internet that almost 90% of users are not aware of.
Everything has a dark side, and so does the internet.
As it is also known, the dark web is a part of the World Wide Web (WWW) that hides itself behind high-level encryption and multiple overlays. To use it a person requires various levels of relays, authorizations, passwords. It uses the public internet domain but works only on a specific software. It is a part of the Internet that is neither indexed nor accessed by search engines like Google, Yahoo! etc. A classic example of a dark web is Tor. Tor, short for The Onion Router, is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication. — Wikipedia.
The Dark Web works on the concept of overlays that is similar to onions. Onions have multiple layers, one inside the other. The network overlays also work in the same way. The core of dark web is covered by various levels of encryption and protection layers. The Dark Web can be a small peer-to-peer service or a large one like Freenet, I2P etc.
The dark web was introduced to achieve and provide anonymity. It was developed to provide services while keeping the identity or the service provider and receiver anonymous. However, these days Dark Web is mainly used for criminal activities.
Researchers found that the primary usage of the dark web is illegal products sales like drugs, weapons, directories, books, etc. — University in the United States research
Other activities include gambling. Whistleblowers also use it to provide information without displaying their identity.
Anything we do on the internet leaves behind a trail. Whenever the dark web or any other website is accessed, the IP address gets recorded. The trail is generally not visible to ordinary people but is not hidden from experts and law agencies. They can easily trail the masked IP address and hardware used back to the user. This often works as evidence presented against the person in the court of law. There is no hiding from government and law enforcement agencies.
The Dark Web was invented for good, but it finally lost its way in the hands of malicious individuals.
By Magda Chelly:
Former Chief Security Officer | Author & Keynote Speaker | IFSEC Global Top 20 Cybersecurity Influencer | Entrepreneur | PhD, S-CISO, CISSP, Cert SCI (General Insurance)
Find out on magda-on-cyber.com
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