Crimes
of the Dark Web

Abstract

            Beyond the regular world of the all-accessible
Internet, lies a world of hidden platforms and communities used by only the
darkest and most sinister of individuals. This hidden creation is called the
Dark Web (DW). The Dark Web is a platform on the internet that is only
accessible using a specific type of software. This software allows people to
hide behind various IP addresses to remain undetected in order to complete
illegal and extremist acts. This paper serves to go into detail about what the
DW is and how it is used, what types of crimes are committed, and other illegal
acts performed within it. It will explain the different domains that reside
within the DW, what they are used for, and why they were so successful. This
paper will also go into what kinds of individuals choose to use it, and why
they feel the need to do so, and how they have been caught and stopped in the
past. This paper will strive to cover all different aspects of the DW and all that
is associated with it, to better understand its reason for existing.

Crimes
of the Dark Web

            There are many types of crimes committed
in this world, however the most recently evolved platform for crime is known as
the Dark Web (DW). The DW is a discrete online infrastructure used by
miscreants such as terrorists, where they are able to share their ideologies
and communicate with one another in often illegal activities (Chen, Chung, Qin,
Reid, Sageman, & Weimann, 2008). The DW is the main support of crimes
taking place in today’s cyberspace, and according to Alrwais, Li, Wang, Xie, and
Yu, (2013), these crimes cause hundreds of millions in damage every year. There
is still limited knowledge about DW infrastructures, despite progress being
made to understand and disrupt the malignant activities (Alrwais, et al.,
2013), though we do know from accounts of experience, as well as the little
research that has been done, some of the happenings within DW social networks.
This paper will serve to explain the DW, what it is used for, and the different
domains associated with it. It will go into detail about how individuals access
it, and the different reasons one might have to do so. This paper will also
cover different domains within DW platforms, misconceptions about it, and
various crimes committed associated with DW use.

What is the Dark Web and how is it accessed?

            There are many different
explanations used to define the DW, as it is something very difficult to
understand. What is mainly understood about it is, the DW is a class of content
on the internet that is part of something called the “Deep Web” (Chertoff &
Simon, 2015). The Deep Web is a platform that is not available by standard
search engines, meaning you cannot access it without the correct software
(Gehl, 2014). Chertoff and Simon (2015) explain that the DW is used for near-complete
anonymity to perform illegal acts away from the face of the public. According
to some, the DW is a platform used for power and freedom, attempting to
overcome growing social networking as well as state oppression (Gehl, 2014). To
others, it is a place that is able to foster new opportunities for individuals
with malicious intent to commit crimes and “dark business” in a more secretive
fashion (Alrwais, et al., 2013). As mentioned before, it is impossible to enter
the DW without proper software. There are different ways to be able to access
the DW, but one of the most common ways is by use of “The Onion Router,” also
known as “TOR” (Hayes, Cappa, & Cardon, 2018). The Onion Router is an
infrastructure that can be used to create almost completely anonymous
connections over a public domain, which is how individuals roam around the DW
and utilize different internet services without being detected (Goldschlag,
Reed, & Syverson, 1999). The Onion Router “covers your online tracks by
blending your internet traffic into data from many servers worldwide to make
you functionally invisible” (Hodson, 2014). The Onion Router was first created
about 20 years ago as a military research project. Its original intention was
to avoid traffic analysis (TA), which is used to identify IP addresses (Forte,
2006). The individuals running this research project lost control of the
software, ultimately making it available to the general public, creating
privacy on the internet that is almost impossible to control (Forte, 2006). The
reason for this software being called an “onion” router, is likely due to the
layers involved in it, starting with the all-accessible “surface web,” and
moving deeper and deeper through layers into the DW (Weimann, 2016). It was
Michael K. Bergman that stated the DW as compared to skimming a net across the
surface of the ocean. You may catch a great deal within the net, however there
is a breadth of information that resides deeper that cannot be reached
(Weimann, 2015).

Who is using the Dark Web and Why?

            To many, the DW is a terrifying
place that should never be entered. As most people are aware, it is full of
dangerous individuals, seeking out antisocial activities with others who share
similar ideals and interests. The creation of the DW has allowed for
individuals such as terrorists to reside within it undetected to go about their
business. It is known that these terrorists have been active in public online
platforms since the late 1990s, however would get shut down by
counter-terrorism agencies. This is when then DW came in handy for these
individuals, as the DW provides a kind of security that nowhere else is able to
provide, and therefore is perfect to execute antisocial and illegal acts
(Weimann, 2016). A recent study was conducted and found that 57% of the content
residing within the DW consists of illegal content such as pornography, illicit
finances, drug hubs, weapons trafficking, counterfeit currency, terrorist communication,
and more (Moore & Rid). The DW is a host for marketplaces that allow
“vendors” to sell illegal items to consumers using Bitcoin rather than actual
money (Hayes, et al., 2018). Bitcoin is a crypto-currency that allows for these
seller’s to anonymously trade illegal items on the DW without leaving a trail
(Hayes, et al., 2018). It is believed that the DW marketplaces are so
successful because consumers of these illegal items feel safe shopping there,
because they can be almost certain they will never be caught due to the hefty
precautions used within these sites (Hayes, et al., 2018). This high level of
anonymity nurtures illegal activities within the DW including not only drug
trafficking, but also credit card fraud and identity theft, as well as leaks of
sensitive information (Chertoff & Simon, 2015).

            There are various different groups
of people that use the DW for their own personal gain, many of them being
extremist or terrorist groups. One of the first major hate-sites that
originated on the DW was a groups of neo-Nazi’s (Anwar & Abulaish, 2012).
As of 2012, the neo-Nazi hate-site contained 58 different forums with a total
of 619, 634 threads and over 8 million posts (Anwar & Abulaish, 2012). Evidence
of these hate groups show the danger that is growing on DW forums, and the
significant threat they pose to society. Accessibility to these extremist
groups allow for a global audience to be present and share ideals world-wide
with one another, that would not be able to be accomplished otherwise (Zhou,
Reid, Qin, Chen, & Lai, 2005). Being online means hate groups can now grow
larger than ever before. Not only can extremist ideals now reach entire
communities in the real world, but those communities can now spread their
ideals thousands of times faster and join with other communities across the
world, allowing for a much bigger problem than we have ever faced before. A
quote taken from Roversi (2006) states quite literally what is happening in the
world due to these extreme terrorist groups residing on the DW. The quote reads
as a testimony against the DW and its happenings of nostalgia for the Fascist
era, videos appearing on extremist web sites of police and political “adversaries,”
and propaganda being created against Blacks, gays, and Jews. The statement continues,
arguing a complete “Balkanization” of the web slowly occurring (Roversi, 2006).
Balkanization being a fragmentation of the internet that is hostile towards one
another.

            The DW and its users have grown
exponentially over the years. In 2007 alone, there was an estimated eight
hundred active right-wing websites document in the US (Caiani & Parenti,
2009). As Caiani and Parenti (2009) point out, it is not just the number of
extremist websites on the DW that is interesting, however it is the role the
internet plays in these organizations that is gaining scientific interest. As
research expands in this field, there are findings indicating the use of these
sites being dissemination of propaganda, inciting violence, facilitate
recruitment in order to reach a larger, more global audience, and to connect
with others that have similar interests (Caiani & parenti, 2009). To prove
further this usage of the DW, after the attacks in November of 2015 in Paris,
ISIS turned to the DW to spread propaganda in an attempt to protect its
supporters (Weimann, 2016). ISIS’s media outlet is known as Al-Hayat Media Center, where information
is spread about the happenings within the group, allowing for people from all
corners of the earth to reach and be informed of this growing terrorist
organization (Weimann, 2016).

            Researchers are still unsure about
whether or not the ability to communicate secretly online is a causal factor
for an increase in terrorism. It is known however, that this online
accessibility substantially improves the ability of extremist groups to grow
and prosper, with the capacity to reach a mass audience (Caiani & Parenti,
2009). It is clear that socially unacceptable activities are infinitely easier
to execute within the DW than anywhere else, and it makes complete sense why
groups such as ISIS would choose to turn to a platform such as this.

Domains within the Dark Web

            As stated before, there are many different
domains that reside outside as well as within the DW, one being known as the
Silk Road (Lacson & Jones, 2016). The Silk Road was a cryptomarket that led
to the popularity of DW marketplaces after its rise and fall between 2011 and
2013 (Hayes, et al. 2018). The Silk Road marketplace, throughout its nearly two
years of operation, generated millions of dollars in revenue for those using it
(Lacson & Jones, 2016). This platform was used mainly for drug dealers and
buyers on an international level. The Silk Road was founded by a mysterious
individual known as the “Dread Pirate Roberts,” and used web-based currency
like bitcoin, supported military-grade privacy, and managed to stay out of the
eyes of law enforcement everywhere for the two years it remained in use (Lacson
& Jones, 2018). As stated before, sites like this are only accessible
through the TOR browser, also known as The Onion Router, where URLs always
consisted of seemingly random sets of characters, always followed by “.onion”
(Lacson & Jones, 2018). It seems as though the “.onion” was yet another
security feature among the many encryptions already in place. There was a study
conducted by Maddox, Barratt, Allen, and Lenton (2015), in which they
anonymously interviewed users of the Silk Road after its closure in 2013. Their
study found that the Silk Road was not just used for buying and selling drugs,
but it was also a place that supported personal freedom where open and safe
discussions were able to be had regarding stigmatized and illegal behaviours
between individuals who shared similar ideologies and interests (Maddox,
Barratt, Allen, & Lenton, 2015). This private domain was a place where
people could go to avoid public scrutiny and feel like part of a community.

            Along with the Silk Road, there are
also other domains and websites within the DW. The Assassination Market website
is yet another platform that allows individuals to perform illegal acts. This
platform is a prediction market where a party will place a bet on the date they
believe a given individual will die. Whoever guesses accurately collects a
payoff (Chertoff & Simon, 2015). Though this website is a prediction
market, it provides incentive for the gamblers to assassinate the given
individual in order to win the large sum of money (Chertoff & Simon, 2015).
There are also websites that allow individuals to hire assassins, one being White Wolves, and another known as C’thuthlu (Chertoff & Simon, 2015).
Alongside the Assassination Market, come other websites such as Banker & Co. and InstaCard, which are websites on the DW
that facilitate untraceable financial transactions using bitcoins or an
anonymous debit card issued by a bank (Chertoff & Simon, 2015). These
websites also allow individuals to buy stolen credit card information, one in
particular called Atlantic Carding offers
this service (Chertoff & Simon, 2015). With these websites, it has never
been easier to buy and sell illegal items on the internet.

Conclusion

            Among all of the crimes committed in
the world, those committed on the DW can be considered all the more dangerous. This
being said, we must note that virtual crime is no different than crime in the
real world. All that has changed is the medium to which people are utilizing to
commit these crimes, and the breadth of people that can be reached at any given
time (Chertoff & Simon, 2015). As discovered throughout this paper, the DW
is a platform on the internet that allows for near complete anonymity on the
web. This created a world for criminals to be able to exist in communities
committing antisocial acts virtually unnoticed by the vast majority of people
on and off the internet. It also allows for criminals to be able to reach a
much larger audience than ever before, creating a large problem when it comes
to terrorist and extremist groups, as well as the buying and selling of illegal
items. This paper served to explore the DW and all it entails, from what it is,
to how it was created, to how to access it, as well as various reasons people
feel the need for such a destructive and hateful platform. There is still
ongoing research regarding this topic, and much yet to be discovered about the
DW. Despite this, it is believed we have a good grasp on this concept from a scientific
standpoint, and will continue to strive to shut down the operations and
happenings on the DW. As we continue this goal, researchers will continue to
study and monitor different presences on the DW, both for scientific gain, and
to ensure the safety of the public.

References

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