The Dark Web

Abstract

The Dark Web is its own clandestine network of thousands of websites that most of us do not even know exist, much less how to access. The Dark Web uses its own tools to keep users anonymous and their activities hidden. The Dark Web is so well concealed that the full extent of its use remains largely the topic of hushed conversations. From black market drug sales to child pornography, the Dark Web operates at two extremes of the Internet, from venues for anonymous whistleblowing on one end to unguarded censorship on the other. This article provides a primer for those interested in learning more about the “known unknowns” of the Dark Web. Readers will find an excellent opening manuscript for the newly launched International Journal of Cyber Research and Education as it sets the stage for future research in cyber security and law enforcement. The paper will examine three foundational questions for the reader: What constitutes the ‘deep/dark/underground' web and keeps it obscure and remote from the community of legitimate users? How can websites that occupy the same virtual space range exist in two parallel dimensions from discoverable to undiscoverable? And finally, how do the actors on the Dark Web mature from novice to advanced? Is it the same process followed by users of the known web? In the corpus of this article, the authors will briefly examine how online markets exist simultaneously on the Internet, serving clients in both known online environments as well as the more secretive, anonymous online world. They will examine how nefarious actors migrate from the “good” web to become novice and then advanced users of the “evil” environments. To the neophyte user, the process introduced herein may appear relatively straightforward. In truth, the notion that any but the most staunchly dedicated practitioner can become a vetted participant in the ‘dark web' is inconceivable. Even so, with the sheer volume of actors operating in numerous underground forums and marketplaces, the impact remains significant and growing geometrically. Government and industry from all over the globe are hindered in their ability to track and identify the truly advanced actors operating in these more secretive environments. We shall soon see why this is the case.