Dark web sites - Exploring the Dark Web, Dark Web Sites, and the Elusive Link...
Darknet
1. BEYOND THE KNOWN INTERNET:
THE DARKNET OR THE DEEP WEB
By: Matthew Kwong
2. Suppose you key a search into Google. What
percentage of the total number of pages on the
internet do you think is actually being
searched?
3. THE ANSWER? 0.03%, OR A RATIO OF
3 PER 10000 WEB PAGES ARE
ACTUALLY ACCESSIBLE TO SEARCH
ENGINES
So where is the remaining
99.97% of the internet?
4. SO WHAT IS THE DARKNET?
• The internet consists of hyperlinks, all indexed by a search engine
– this is the surface web
• Darknet is a collection of un-indexed webpages, meaning they
cannot be found through a search
• Often the pages themselves are hidden, meaning you need a
program such as “Tor” to access them
6. HOW TO ACCESS THE
DARKNET
• Viewing Darknet pages requires the use of software that conceals
your IP address
• The best known is Tor, initially developed for use by the US
military
• Tor stands for “the onion router” – any URL that ends in .onion is
a hidden page
7. THE DARKNET CONTINUED
• In short, Tor works by sending data through multiple nodes
before reaching its destination
• Even with Tor installed Darknet pages still cannot be searched –
pages are accessed either through a hub, or links provided by
“members”
• Currently the fastest growing sector of the internet, over 500
times larger then the “surface” web
8. THE DARKNET AND CRIME
• As eerie as it may sound, the Darknet is primarily not criminal
• Nonetheless, anonymity has helped foster criminal activity
• A site called The Silk Road sells drugs and another illicit items for
Bitcoins, a digital currency
• There are also sites for distributing child pornography (with tight
security), provide information on making bombs for terrorism
and even for hiring hitmen
9.
10. ORGANIZED CRIME
ELEMENTS
• A crime syndicate called the Russian Business Network
(RBN) is known for using murky address space to send
spam
• These "dark address spaces" are online addresses which
have been abandoned or forgotten over time
• The RBN can send spam through these addresses and
then quickly disconnect to avoid detection
• They may also rent these spaces out to criminals for
spreading viruses or online identity theft
11. IN SUMMARY...
• The Darknet was conceived to allow anonymous online
communication – it is now predominantly used for criminal
activity
• The characteristics of the Darknet allows criminals to
market illicit goods and services, and may even bring like-
minded individuals together
• The sheer scale and tight security of the Darknet means that
is very difficult and time consuming for law enforcement to
control it – even if they say otherwise
12. DISCUSSION
In a sense the Darknet
represents contradicting
ideas: a place of true freedom,
but also a platform for
criminal elements to
organize, advertise and carry
out their activities. Given a
choice, should a place such as
the Darknet even exist?
The administrators of Tor
have stated that if they detect
criminal activity using Tor,
they do report it; however
they do not actively look for
such activity. Should the
creators of Tor be doing more
to control how their program
is used?
