The “dark web,” also known as the darknet, has been in the news of late. Like most aspects of cyber conflict and the cyber underworld, it has generated a fair amount of interest and a number of questions. It has certainly gained the attention of Hollywood, although, with nearly three decades of being deeply involved in the Internet, I must say reality is much more creative and exciting than the Hollywood writers have been so far.
In general, the dark web refers to a collection of web sites connected to the Internet that are intentionally hidden from search engines and use obscure IP addresses. Some are accessible only with a special browser or browser plug-in. The dark web is where criminal or illicit activities often take place.
It is important to note that some say that the dark web is a component of the “deep web,” while others see them as separate things.
If it’s criminal, it probably has some dark web activity and terrorists have taken to using the dark web as part of their C4ISR. One of the most active areas of the dark web as it relates to cyber is the online marketplaces that sell zero-day vulnerabilities found in operating systems and common applications of computers, smartphones, scada systems, tablets and other devices. There are even communities of interest support on the dark web.
The dark web is another great challenge for law enforcement and cyber command. It continues to grow and remains fairly obscure and dark web site creators use the latest and greatest technology to remain hidden. The dark web is alive and well and continues to grow! One security researcher found that there have been 312 criminals operating on the dark web arrested. While those arrests are a start, one cyber intelligence analysts called this a “very small drop in the bucket.”
INTEL: Some believe the deep web accounts for the vast majority (some say as high as 90 percent) of the Internet, while the dark web is only thought to be about one-tenth of 1 percent of the Internet.
INTEL: Silk Road is a black market operating on the dark web of the Internet that was identified and closed down by the FBI in 2013. It reappeared and the FBI again took action in 2014 closing it down and in 2015 got a conviction of Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road’s founder.
