Why The Darknet is Not that “Dark”?
The Darknet tends to be known as a space for irregulated criminal activity such as drug distribution, child pornography and trafficking. In the last few years, it became one of the main topics in the cyber security sector as well as in mass media. Various news media portray Darknet as an environment of the natural flourishing of the criminal activities, which often include usage of one of the main browsers Tor (Mirea et al., 2018).
But what is the Darknet?
The Darknet is a collection of thousands of websites that use anonymity tools such as Tor and I2P to hide their IP address (Greenberg, 2014). The Darknet is a part of the Deep Web, which is collection of all sites on the web that out of the reach of any public search engines such as Google (Barlett, 2015). This encrypted part of the Internet operates via several specific technologies such as, for instance, Tor browser or Freenet.
Tor is an acronym of The Onion Router, which refers to the many layers of encryptions and serves through which Tor enabled traffic travels (MacLeod, 2019). The network of Tor browser is another network which sits on top of the TCP/IP internet, stitching the participating computers together into a whole new network ‘space’ called ‘Onion Space’ (Kobie, 2019). The browser uses a client–server model, while Freenet is ‘an adaptive peer-to-peer network application that permits the publication, replication, and retrieval of data while protecting the anonymity of both authors and readers’ (Clarke et al., 2002, p. 45).
If we compare Tor and Freenet, the latter is less likely to be taken down by the governments. Freenet is a fully private network, while Tor allow access to the internet and use client – server model, which makes it less resistant in government takedowns. (Roderick & Pitman, 2018). On the other hand, Tor’s client – server model is way much faster in terms of use.
Is the Darknet that “dark”?
Even though, the Darknet is commonly described and associated with illegal and criminal activity. The software with heavy-duty encryption, that operate with the Darknet are truly taking care of your privacy, which is the most current and essential issue these days. Majority of the search engines keep a very close eye on who you are and what you are searching for, and almost everything you’ve done online is conducted and traced by someone (MacLeod, 2019). Here comes an actual potential of the Darknet. It empowers users to search and communicate without being detected whatsoever.
Aside of illegal part of the Dark Web, the network is essentially important for journalists who work with whistle-blowers and citizens in nations with strict censorships. Along with that the Dark Web is a great tool for a legal researcher on a sensitive topic, in order to safely browse and gather necessary data without leaving any traces. Despite the fact that we call it a Dark Web, the software are pretty transparent about our privacy, which afterwards can’t be said about the “safe” Web.
References:
Bartlett, J. (2015). The Dark Net. Inside the Digital Underworld. Melville House Publishing.
Clarke, I., Miller, S., Hong, T., Sandberg, O., & Wiley, B. (2002). Protecting free expression online with Freenet. IEEE Internet Computing, 6(1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1109/4236.978368
Dark Web: Why the Dark Web Is Good and Important | Dark Web Part 5. (2021, January 22). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Oecvy3RP50
Graham, R., & Pitman, B. (2018). Freedom in the wilderness: A study of a Darknet space. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 26(3), 593–619. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856518806636
Greenberg, A. (2020, October 21). What Is the Dark Web? Wired. https://www.wired.com/2014/11/hacker-lexicon-whats-dark-web/
Kobie, N. (2021, April 20). What is the dark web? How to use Tor to access the dark web. WIRED UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-the-dark-web-how-to-access
MacLeod, D. (2019, October 18). Dark web for legal researchers—casting some light on the shadows. Legal Insights Europe. https://blogs.thomsonreuters.com/legal-uk/2019/10/18/dark-web-for-legal-researchers-casting-some-light-on-the-shadows/
Mirea, M., Wang, V., & Jung, J. (2018). The not so dark side of the darknet: a qualitative study. Security Journal, 32(2), 102–118. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-018-0150-5