What is the Dark Web?
The dark web is part of the internet that isn’t visible to search engines and requires the use of an anonymizing browser called Tor to access.
Dark Web Definition
The dark web is a part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines. You’ve no doubt heard talk of the “dark web” as a hotbed of criminal activity- and it is. Researchers Deniel Moore and Thomas Rid of King’s College in London classified the contents of 223 live darkweb sites over a five week period in 2015 and found that 57% host illicit material.
A 2019 study, Into the web of profit, conducted by Dr. Michael MxGuires t te University of Surrey, shows that things have become worse. The number of dark web listings that could harm an enterprise has risen by 20% since 2016. Of all listings(excluding those selling drugs), 60% could potentially harm enterprises.
DeepWeb & darkWeb: What’s the difference?
The terms “deepWeb” and “darkWeb” are sometimes use interchangeably, but they are not the same. Deep web refers to access via a search engine like Google. Deep web content includes anything behind a paywall or requires sign-in credentials. It also includes any content that its owners have blocked web crawlers from indexing.
Medical records, fee-based content, membership websites and confidential corporate web pages are just a few examples of what makes up the deep web.
The dark web is a subset of the deep web that is intentionally hidden, requiring a specific browser TOR to access, as explained below. No one really knows the size of the darkweb, but most estimates put it at around 5% of the total internet. Again, not all the dark web is used for illicit purposes despite its ominous-sounding name.
Dark Web tools and services that present enterprise risk
The web of profit report identified 12 categories of tools or services that could present a risk in the form of a network breach or data compromise.
- Infection or attacks, including malware, distributed denial of services (DDoS) and botnets.
- Access, including remote access Trojans (RATs), keyloggers and exploits.
- Espionage, including services, customization and targeting.
- Support services such as tutorials.
- Credentials.
- Phishing.
- Refunds.
- Customer data.
- Operational data.
- Financial data.
- Intellectual property/trade secrets.
- Other emerging threats.
Dark web search engine
Its search engines exist, but even the best are challenged to keep up with the constantly shifting landscape. The experience is reminiscent of searching the web in the late 1990s. Even one of the best search engines, called Grams, returns that are repetitive and often irrelevant to the query. Link lists like The Hidden Wiki are another option, but even indices also return a frustrating number of timed-out connections and 404 errors.
Dark web sites
Dark web sites look pretty much like any other site, but there are important differences. One is naming structure. Instead of ending in .com or .co dark sites end in .onion. That’s a special use top level domain suffix designating an anonymous hidden service reachable via the TOR network,according to wikipedia. Browsers with the appropriate proxy can reach these sites, but others can’t.
Is the dark web illegal ?
We don’t want to leave you with the impression that everything on the darkweb is nefarious or illegal. The Tor network began as an anonymous communications channel, and it still serves a valuable purpose in helping people communicate in environments that are hostile to free speech. “A lot of people use it in countries where there’s eavesdropping or where internet access is criminalized” Tiquet said.
If you want to learn all about privacy protection or cryptocurrency, the darkweb has plenty to offer. There are a variety of private and encrypted email services, instructions for installing an anonymous operating system and privacy-conscious.
Written By: Abhishek Kumar
Reviewed By: Sayan Chatterjee
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