The darknet is a component of the network that is not indexed through search engines. You’ve probably heard of the “dark web” as a hotbed of criminal activity, and it is. Researchers Daniel Moore and Thomas Rid of King’s College London analyzed the content of 2,723 live darknet sites over a five-week period in 2015 and found that 57% of them hosted illicit material.
A study called Into the Web of Profit, led by Dr. Michael McGuires of the University of Surrey, shows that the situation has worsened. The number of records on the dark web that could harm a company increased by 20% between 2016 and 2019. Of all listings (excluding those promoting drugs), 60% can potentially harm companies.
You can buy credit card numbers, all kinds of medicines, guns, counterfeit money, stolen subscription IDs, hacked Netflix accounts, and software that helps you access other people’s computers. Buy $50,000 Bank of America account login credentials, fake $20 bills, prepaid debit cards, or a premium Netflix account “for life. “You can hire hackers to attack computers for you. You can acquire usernames and passwords.
Not everything is illegal, the dark web also has its valid side. For example, you can sign up for a chess club or BlackBook, a social network described as “Tor’s Facebook. “
Note: This article links to dark internet sites that can only be accessed with the Tor browser, which can be downloaded for free from https://www. torproject. org.
Patrick Tiquet, director of security and architecture at Keeper Security and a resident of the company and an expert on the subject, connects to the dark web because for him it is vital to be aware of what is happening in the world of hackers. “I use the dark web to know the situation, analyze the threats and be aware of what’s going on,” he said. “I need to know what data can be obtained and take an outdoor look at the virtual assets that are being monetized; It gives us an idea of what hackers are targeting. “
There are also many pieces of equipment that can be used to monitor the dark web, search for identifiable information, and even respond to attacks.
If you locate your own data on the dark web, there’s not much you can do about it, but at least know you’ve been compromised. Bottom line: If you can tolerate the poor performance, unpredictable availability, and occasional surprises of the dark web, it’s worth checking out. I didn’t buy anything there.
The terms “deep web” and “dark web” are rarely used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Deep web refers to anything on the network that is not indexed and therefore available through a search engine like Google. Deep Web content includes anything that is paywall or requires login credentials. It also includes any content that has been blocked by network crawlers from being indexed by their owners.
Medical records, paid content, club websites, and confidential corporate Internet pages are just a few examples of what constitutes the deep web. Estimates put the length of the deep web between 96% and 99% of the length of the internet. Only a small portion of the Internet can be accessed through a popular Internet browser, known as the “Transparent Internet. “
The Dark Web is a deliberately hidden subset of the Deep Web, requiring access from a fast browser, Tor, as explained below. No one knows the extent of the dark web, yet maximum estimates put it at around 5% of the entire internet. Again, despite its sinister name, not all of the dark web is used for illicit purposes.
The Into the Web of Profit report discusses 12 categories of computers that can pose a threat in the form of a network breach or knowledge compromise:
The report also outlines 3 threat variables per category:
Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) kits have been available on the dark web for several years, but those offerings have become much more harmful with the rise of specialized criminal teams like REvil or GandCrab. malware, combined with pre-existing tools and distributed through “affiliates”.
Affiliates distribute the ransomware packages over the dark web. These attacks involve stealing victims’ knowledge and threatening to leak it to the dark web if the ransom is not paid.
This style of business is successful and lucrative. IBM Security X-Force, for example, reported that 29% of its ransomware attacks in 2020 involved REvil. The rogue teams that developed the malware get a percentage of their affiliates’ profits, between 20 and 30 percent. IBM estimates that REvil’s profits surpassing last year were $81 million.
All this activity, this vision of a booming market, might make you think that navigating the dark web is easy. But that’s not the case. The situation is as confusing and chaotic as one would expect when everyone is anonymous and a significant minority must rip off others.
Accessing the dark web requires the use of an anonymous browser called Tor. The Tor browser routes requests for your internet page through a series of proxy servers operated by thousands of volunteers around the world, making your IP unidentifiable and untraceable. Tor works like magic, but the result is an experience that resembles the dark web itself: unpredictable, unreliable, and infuriatingly slow.
Still, for those willing to put up with those inconveniences, the dark web offers a memorable glimpse into the darkest part of human delight, without the threat of hiding in a dark alley.
There are obscure internet search engines, but even the most productive ones struggle to keep up with an ever-changing landscape. The experience is reminiscent of internet search in the late 1990s. Even one of the most productive search engines, called Grams, will endorse effects that are repetitive and not repeated due to the query. Link lists like The Hidden Wiki are another option, but even indexes also roll back a frustrating amount of timed connections and 404 errors.
Dark internet sites look pretty much like any other site, but there are some important differences. One is the naming structure. Instead of ending in Arraycom or Arrayco, dark web sites end up in Arrayonion. It is “a special-purpose top-level domain suffix denoting an unnamed hidden service that can be published over the Tor network,” according to Wikipedia. Browsers with the right proxy can access those sites, but others can’t.
Dark web sites also use a coded name design that creates URLs that are very difficult to remember. For example, a popular grocery shopping site called Dream Market has the unintelligible address “eajwlvm3z2lcca76. onion. “
Many dark internet sites are created through scammers, who are constantly on the move to avoid the wrath of their victims. Even advertising sites that have been around for a year or more can suddenly disappear if the owners take out the coins and run away with the escrow coins. maintained on behalf of customers.
Law enforcement officials can track down and prosecute site owners who promote illegal goods and services. In the summer of 2017, a team of cyber police from three countries managed to shut down AlphaBay, the largest source of contraband on the dark web, sending shivers down the spine. the backbone of the network. But many merchants have just migrated elsewhere.
The anonymous nature of the Tor network also makes it vulnerable to DDoS, Keeper’s Tiquet said. “Sites are constantly converting addresses to DDoS, which creates a very dynamic environment,” he said. As a result, “the quality of the search varies widely and many documents are outdated. “
The dark web has thrived thanks to bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that allows two parties to make a trusted transaction without knowing the identity of the other party. “Bitcoin has been a pivotal element in the expansion of the dark web, and the dark web has been a vital element. important in the expansion of Bitcoin,” says Tiquet.
Almost every trading site on the dark web transacts in bitcoin or a variant, but that doesn’t mean business is done there. The inherent anonymity of the position attracts scammers and thieves, but what do you expect when your purpose is to buy?Guns or drugs?
Dark web trading sites have the same capability as any online retail business, aggregating ratings/reviews, shopping carts, and forums, but there are some vital differences. One is quality control. When buyers and merchants are anonymous, the credibility of any scoring formula is questionable. Notes are handled seamlessly, and sellers with a long track record have even been known to disappear with their clients’ cryptocurrencies, only to later set up shop under some other pseudonym.
Most eCommerce providers offer some sort of escrow service that helps keep the visitor’s budget on hold until the product is delivered. However, in the event of a dispute, don’t expect smiling service. It depends on the visitor and the distributor competing with each other. Every communication is encrypted, so even the simplest transaction requires a PGP key.
Even completing a transaction does not guarantee that the goods will arrive. Many have to cross foreign borders, and customs officials crack down on suspicious packages. The dark web news site Deep. Dot. Web is full of stories of buyers who have been arrested or jailed. for purchase attempts.
Just like in the real world, the value paid for stolen data fluctuates as the market changes. According to Privacy Affair’s 2021 Dark Web Price Index, these are the maximum values that exist for some of the data that is commonly traded on the Dark Web:
We don’t need to give you the impression that everything on the dark web is nefarious or illegal. The Tor network began as an unnamed communication channel and still plays a valuable role in helping others speak out in environments hostile to free speech. “A lot of people use it in countries where there is illegal eavesdropping or where the network is criminalized,” Tiquet said.
If you need to know everything about privacy or cryptocurrency, the dark web has a lot to offer. There are a variety of personal and encrypted email services, commands on how to install an unnamed operating system, and complex tips for privacy-conscious people.
There are also curtains you wouldn’t be surprised to find on the public Internet, such as links to full-text editions of hard-to-locate books, collections of political news from major Internet sites, and a consultant on the steam tunnels under the Virginia River. . You can conduct news discussions anonymously on Intel Exchange. There are several whistleblowing sites, plus an edition of Wikileaks on the dark web. Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent site that authorities have shut down several times, is alive and well there. Even Facebook has a presence on the dark web.
“More and more valid Internet companies are starting to have a presence there,” Tiquet said. “This shows that they’re aware, that they’re ahead of the curve and that they’re informed. “
It also has many practical benefits for some organizations. Law enforcement continues to monitor the dark web for stolen knowledge of recent security breaches that can simply track down the perpetrators. Many traditional media outlets monitor whistleblowing sites for information.
Editor’s note: This article, originally published in January 2018, was later updated to include information about ransomware-as-a-service and insights into the costs paid for stolen data.
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Darren Guccione is the CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security, the world’s most popular secure virtual vault and password manager. Keeper is the first and only password manager app preloaded across cellular carriers and device manufacturers, adding AT
Darren is featured as a cybersecurity expert in major media outlets, such as CBS Evening News and Fox.
It is a company with extensive experience in design, engineering, and product development. At Keeper, Darren leads product vision, overall strategy, visitor experience, and business development.
Prior to Keeper, Darren was an advisor at JiWire, now known as NinthDecimal. NinthDecimal is the leading media and generation provider for the WiFi industry. In the past, he was CFO and principal shareholder of Apollo Solutions, Inc. , which was acquired through CNET Networks.
He holds a Master of Science in Accounting with Distinction from DePaul University’s Kellstadt School of Business in Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned an Evans Scholarship. Thiokol Award for Excellence in Engineering Design. He also won the Distinguished Alumnus Award presented through the Department of Industrial and Business Systems Engineering. In addition, Darren is a Certified Public Accountant.
Darren is a member of the board of trustees of the Chicago Entrepreneurial Center (1871) network, which supports the advancement of early-stage corporations, and an advisor to TechStars, a Chicago-based generation incubator for cutting-edge startups. Technology Infrastructure Committee under the direction of Mayor Richard Daley.
The views expressed in this blog are those of Darren Guccione and do not necessarily constitute those of IDG Communications, Inc. , its parent, subsidiary, or affiliates.