Dark Web

The Dark Web is World Wide Web content that exists on darknets, overlay networks that access the Internet but require specific software, configuration, or authorization to access. The Dark Web forms a small part of the deep web, the part of the Web not indexed by web search engines, although sometimes the term “dark web” is mistakenly used to refer specifically to the dark web.

The darknets that make up the Dark Web include small, friend-to-friend peer-to-peer networks, as well as larger, popular networks such as Tor, Freenet, I2P, and Riftl, run by public organizations and individuals. Users of the dark web refer to the regular web as “clear” due to its unencrypted nature. Tor uses the traffic anonymization technology of the Dark Web, or Onionland, to route the Onion network under the top-level domain suffix .onion.

Vocabulary

The Dark Web, often referred to as the Deep Web, refers to parts of the Web that are not indexed (searchable) by search engines. The dark web forms a small part of the deep web, but it requires custom software. This confusion dates back to at least 2009. Since then, particularly in reporting on the Silk Road, both terms have often been accepted, despite recommendations that they should be distinguished.

Definition

The darknet is also used for illegal activity such as illegal trading, forums, and media exchanges by pedophiles and terrorists. At the same time, traditional websites have created alternative access to the Tor browser in efforts to connect with their users. For example, ProPublica launched a new version of its website available exclusively to Tor users.

Commentary And Policing

Although much of the Dark Web is innocuous, some prosecutors and government agencies are concerned that it is a hotbed of criminal activity. The deep and dark web are applications of integral Internet features to provide privacy and anonymity. Policing involves targeting specific activities of the private web or Internet censorship deemed illegal.

Specialist clearweb news sites such as DeepDotWeb and All Things Vice provide news coverage and practical information about dark web sites and services. However, DeepDotWeb was shut down by the authorities in 2019. Hidden wikis and their mirrors and forks hold some of the largest directories of content at any time.

Popular sources of the dark web. Onion links include Pastebin, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, and other Internet forums. Specialist companies like Darksum and Recorded Future track ongoing dark web cybercrime activities for ongoing law enforcement purposes. In 2015 it was announced that Interpol now offers a dedicated dark web training program providing technical information on Tor, cyber security, and fake darknet market takedowns.

In October 2013 the UK’s National Crime Agency and GCHQ announced the formation of a ‘Joint Operations Cell’ to focus on cybercrime. In November 2015 the team will be tasked with tackling child exploitation on the dark web as well as other cybercrimes.

In March 2017 the Congressional Research Service released a comprehensive report on the Dark Web, looking at the changing speed of information being accessed and presented on it; characterized by the unknown, it is of increasing interest to researchers, law enforcement, and policy makers.

According to reporting in August 2017, cybersecurity firms that monitor and research the Dark Web on behalf of banks and retailers regularly share their findings about illegal content with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies “when possible and necessary.” The Russian-speaking underground, offering a crime-as-a-service model, is considered particularly strong.

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