A trip to the dark web, the corner of the crime on the network
There is a dark side to the web: a set of sites that are being used by criminals as a support for their illegal activities. Receives several names: darknet, dark web, internet or internet dark hidden.
The dark internet became famous in 2013, when it was discovered that one of its chinks, there was a store that sold narcotics, weapons, child pornography and even professional services murderers. It was called Silk Road or 'Silk Road' in Spanish. It fell as a result of operating the FBI. The rugged discovery made visible the gestation of an underworld on the web, a paradise for criminals, where they could carry out their misdeeds easily undetected by the authorities.
A study by the University of Portsmouth (UK) revealed that four out of five visits (80 percent) to the hidden network territory relate to pedophile content portals.
The remaining visits are aimed at focusing on drugs, smuggling, cybercrime, weapons, among other places. Getting to the darkest area is difficult for common users. Portales likeness of Silk Road have proliferated in recent years. The addresses of the sites used by criminals are difficult to obtain. Usually, they are shared between people who are involved with groups outside the law and are not distributed publicly.
These addresses are characterized by end with the suffix '.onion' instead of '.com' or '.net'. Some banks have tried to list and categorize web sites of the dark, but has proved to be a futile effort, as most links are no longer valid in the short term.
It is estimated that the deep web receives about 2 million visitors from around the world every day. In Colombia it is still not widely used. Canadian Eric Jardine, researcher at the Center for International Governance Innovation states that, from the country, 11 million instances were reported, for an average of 916,000 per month and 30,000 a day. "Not too much, compared with the international context, but it was a significant leap over previous years, when only activity was recorded in that realm of the virtual" he explains.
One of the factors that prompted the use of dark web in recent years were the revelations of Edward Snowden, related to the monitoring of the National Security Agency United States at various levels and sectors of society. This stoked the interest of citizens to protect their information.
The dark web is one of the three parties in which has divided the virtual universe, as explained Jardine to Technosphere: "The first layer of the web, or superficial, is one where users consume most of your time. It is a small portion of the network of existing sites; It has everything that is accessible by search engines like Google or Yahoo. "
"Then we found the deep web, which is 500 times larger than the surface web. Includes the background of electronic banking sites, pay walls and intranet systems companies. Finally we stumbled on the dark web-a sort of subdivision of the web deeply. It consists of between 30,000 and 80,000 sites. What defines this layer is that everything stayed there anonymously surfing and its contents are of questionable legality, "he adds.
The dark web, constantly evolving
The favorite browser to access the deep layers of the web is Tor, but other platforms such as Freenet, which also offer privacy to users.
These browsers can be used both to visit web sites of the surface, such as Facebook, as dark internet sites. A majority percentage of users (about 90 percent) do not go to Tor and the like to immerse themselves in the areas of crime, but to protect their identity when they access to cyberspace.
Most sites created in the dark web are not kept online for over a week. This hinders the work of the authorities.
"Some police groups have adopted successful to catch criminals strategies, but, for most, still involves a major effort, wear with meager reward," said Pablo Ramos, computer security expert Eset, in an interview with this medium.
Tor break the shield is a major challenge. "There is evidence that some scientists have deciphered blocks traffic flowing through deep web. They analyze traffic entering and leaving the network and correlate with other variables to guess the identity of those entering. Even forces police, during the development of an operational, have unmasked the identity of certain users. We managed to infect certain servers with malware "expert deepened the Innovation Center for International Governance.
However, when persons responsible for project Tor discover these security breaches in the system, release updates to close the perceived flaw. In certain periods, there have been cracks in the armor of Tor, but the technology has changed to remain anonymous and secure.
Groups like Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State have used this platform as a means to rally its members.
"It is clear that not all crimes committed in that layer of the web. Many of them still orchestrate the surface web, such as money laundering, but we have seen an increase in the use of the deep web because illegal groups that have been receiving its benefits, "said Jardine.
"Some cybercriminals create sites on the dark web that are used to raise money for a limited time. They design a malicious program, called 'ramsonware', which encrypts the contents of the cell phone or computer equipment. In exchange for returning the access to data, the attacker requests payment of an amount, a sort of 'rescue' in exchange for releasing the captured information. the transaction is completed on a page hosted on the Internet hidden, using the virtual currency bitcoin in most cases " he warned Ramos, Eset.
It is also used with benign purposes
The deep web started out as a network created by the US army. UU. to ensure secure communication platform, and untraceable, for their soldiers. "In the nineties, the code is released, so that anyone could access it and replicate it, and the Tor Project was founded," said Jardine.
The Tor project is linked to the government of the United States. Not directly, but it provides money for maintenance. "The logic behind keeping alive a network of these features is that it can be used for charitable purposes under certain circumstances," said Jardine.
"Today it is used to house legal sites related to certain types of information, like everything about UFO sightings and similar content. On the other hand, is a tool used by certain citizens of oppressive regimes to avoid censorship and to ensure the safety and anonymity of their online activities, "said Pablo Ramos, computer security expert Eset.
1. Its use is growing apace. It is a significant problem for the authorities. Find a cybercriminal in the dark web is as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. And that barn every day is bigger.
2. Some governments condemn the use of Tor and similar systems. As debates have arisen relating to the desirability of supporting the growth of messaging platforms with encryption technologies, so will the deep web: begin to face the challenge of large global organizations.
3. Its use by criminal increase. "It's not difficult to discern. His popularity among illicit organizations will grow in the coming years and this is a challenge for governments" says Jardine.
