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What is Dark Web?
The Dark Web is a reality that has existed since the beginning of the internet. While there is a load of information indexed on the web, easily accessible by anyone with internet connectivity irrespective of geography, there is even more information and data that do not come to notice because it is hidden and requires special privileges to access. This unchartered portion of the web is called Dark Web.
How is Dark Web different from Web
Information on the dark web is not defined by regulations and content policies. Moreover, web pages serving information on the dark web do not appear on search engines result pages (SERP) like those from Google and Bing because they are hidden and not indexed. Therefore, the dark web includes information that is not easily accessible by everyone. Besides, the web pages serving information on the dark web are marked unsafe by browsers and do not open on Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc.
What is there on Dark Web
Dark Web is home to all sorts of information but it has gained bad reputation because of prevalence of widespread illegal content such as illicit pornography, sale of black market drugs, sale of illegal firearms, illegally acquired users’ database, etc. The availability of such content of illegal nature makes the dark web a suitable place for criminals. However, it is not just for criminals; journalists can use it to gather information from sources without risking their identity, whistleblowers can use it to expose corporate and government corruption, etc.
Is Dark Web illegal
While accessing the Dark Web is not illegal, its use to acquire illegal content and procure prohibited items is. For example, surfing the dark web is legal but procuring pirated copies of movies and games is illegal. Similarly, accessing information is not illegal unless the information is classified and crucial to the nation's security. Using Dark Web to access illicit content like child pornography, and procure prohibited items like drugs and guns is also illegal.
How to safely access Dark Web
To access dark web, one needs a specialised software with peer-to-peer networking support built-in besides other browser features. Currently, there are two software that support these – Tor and I2P. These are web browsers with added tools to encrypt web traffic for safety and security. It is possible to access the dark web anonymously through these software. Moreover, virtual private network (VPN) service adds another layer of security here. However, these software offer no fool-proof protection and one must be careful accessing dark web. As best practice, it is evoked not to reveal real identity on the dark web. Moreover, one should not use banking and other financial services through these software.
Latest Updates on Dark Web
The dark web is a platform on the internet that can be accessed using special tools. It is usually very difficult to trace the identity and location of a dark web user
In December last year, the Consumer Affairs Ministry introduced rules defining 13 dark patterns in ecommerce, classifying them as violations of consumer protection laws
The report said that ethical design alternatives and choice architecture in apps should be introduced to bring down such cases
To mitigate risks from dark web, organisations should implement cybersecurity monitoring that includes preparation, detection, analysis, containment, eradication, recovery, and post-activity measures
The government has been working towards eliminating the usage of dark patterns by e-commerce platforms
The threat actor has put out around 2 Gigabytes of personally identifiable information (PII) of boAt users on dark web forums, claimed the reports
The personal data of 7.5 million boAt customers is a being sold at just two euros on the dark web
Over 1 in 2 consumers surveyed who bought something via app or software platforms said they experienced dark patterns like subscription trap, drip pricing and bait and switch, said the survey
According to a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin have increasingly been used in various illegal and criminal activities and terror financing
Customers ordered controlled substances from Singh using the vendor sites and by paying with cryptocurrency
The dataset allegedly encompasses around 85 per cent of the Indian population, making it one of the largest breaches of its kind
You looked for tickets on a travel website and it showed a particular price. But, within minutes, the price increased
"We must invest and develop a broad-based digital forensic infrastructure to tackle the misuse of cyberspace and criminal commerce. At the same time we have to ensure the digital divide is not there"
Deputy guv says efforts to provide timely solutions to grievances have not kept pace with technology
Deepfakes are videos creating delusion with the use of deep learning, AI, and photoshopping techniques to make images of fake events
The hacker was willing to sell the entire Aadhaar and Indian passport dataset for 80,000 US dollars when contacted by Resecurity
This is the third hackathon the consumer affairs department is organising after the successful hackathon on onion and tomato, he said
A new AI tool has been developed called WormGPT, which aims to launch sophisticated phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks. The WormGPT could be accessed only through the dark web
Google has announced that it will expand its Dark Web monitoring to all Gmail users in the US and later to international markets