Dark web
[1][2][3][4] Through the dark web, private computer networks can communicate and conduct business anonymously without divulging identifying information, such as a user's location.
[9] The Tor dark web or onionland[10] uses the traffic anonymization technique of onion routing under the network's top-level domain suffix .onion.
[16] Tor browsers create encrypted entry points and pathways for the user, allowing their dark web searches and actions to be anonymous.
[18] A December 2014 study by Gareth Owen from the University of Portsmouth found that the most commonly hosted type of content on Tor was child pornography, followed by black markets, while the individual sites with the highest traffic were dedicated to botnet operations (see attached metric).
[25] A February 2016 study from researchers at King's College London gives the following breakdown of content by an alternative category set, highlighting the illicit use of .onion services.
[27][28] Botnets are often structured with their command-and-control servers based on a censorship-resistant hidden service, creating a large amount of bot-related traffic.
[31] Silk Road was one of the first dark web marketplaces that emerged in 2011 and has allowed for the trading of illegal drugs, weapons and identity fraud resources.
[44] Attempts to monitor this activity have been made through various government and private organizations, and an examination of the tools used can be found in the Procedia Computer Science journal.
Additionally, the logs showed, in the opinion of the researchers, that the majority of the compromised ChatGPT passwords had been extracted by the data-stealing virus Raccoon.
[47] Scott Dueweke the president and founder of Zebryx Consulting states that Russian electronic currency such as WebMoney and Perfect Money are behind the majority of the illegal actions.
[36] In April 2015, Flashpoint received a 5 million dollar investment to help their clients gather intelligence from the deep and dark web.
[61] In May 2021, German police said that they had dismantled one of the world's biggest child pornography networks on the dark web known as Boystown; the website had over 400,000 registered users.
[66] In the wake of the November 2015 Paris attacks, an actual such site was hacked by an Anonymous-affiliated hacker group, GhostSec, and replaced with an advert for Prozac.
[69] The DWSN works a like a regular social networking site where members can have customizable pages, have friends, like posts, and blog in forums.
[70] Unlike Facebook, the privacy policy of the DWSN requires that members are to reveal absolutely no personal information and remain anonymous.
[73][74] The creator of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, was arrested by Homeland Security investigations (HSI) for his site and allegedly hiring a hitman to kill six people, although the charges were later dropped.
The term "Red Room" has been coined based on the Japanese animation and urban legend of the same name; however, the evidence points toward all reported instances being hoaxes.
[77][78] On June 25, 2015, the indie game Sad Satan was reviewed by YouTubers Obscure Horror Corner which they claimed to have found via the dark web.
When investigating online suspects, police typically use the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the individual; however, due to Tor browsers creating anonymity, this becomes an impossible tactic.
[82] As a result, law enforcement has employed many other tactics in order to identify and arrest those engaging in illegal activity on the dark web.
[82] In 2015 it was announced that Interpol now offers a dedicated dark web training program featuring technical information on Tor, cybersecurity and simulated darknet market takedowns.
[84] In October 2013 the UK's National Crime Agency and GCHQ announced the formation of a "Joint Operations Cell" to focus on cybercrime.
[86] In August 2017, according to reportage, cybersecurity firms which specialize in monitoring and researching the dark web on behalf of banks and retailers routinely share their findings with the FBI and with other law enforcement agencies "when possible and necessary" regarding illegal content.
[87] Many journalists, alternative news organizations, educators, and researchers are influential in their writing and speaking of the darknet, and making its use clear to the general public.
