Who does the Dark Web affect? Every internet user.Where encryption exists, there also exists a large market of users who wish to remain anonymous. Why does the Dark Web matter? The Dark Web matters for two significant reasons: ideology and practicality.Criminals exploit the network’s anonymity to sell guns, drugs, and humans, while organizations like the UN and Facebook use encryption to protect dissidents in oppressive countries.
The Dark Web is used for both nefarious and reputable purposes. What differentiates the Dark Web from the clearnet is that users are required to run a suite of security tools that help anonymize web traffic. What is the Dark Web? Much like the internet–or clearnet–that billions of people access every day from mobile and desktop devices, the Dark Web is a network of websites, forums, and communication tools like email.
SEE: Ebook: IT leader’s guide to the Dark Web (Tech Pro Research) Executive summary TechRepublic’s cheat sheet is a routinely updated “living” precis about how the Dark Web works, the content that populates the encrypted internet, and the encryption tools needed to safely navigate the network. The network is used by legitimate actors like law enforcement organizations, cryptologists, and journalists as often as by malefactors and criminals. The Dark Web–or dark net, backweb, onionweb–is frequently misunderstood. Often, leaked data surfaces and is sold to miscreants–hackers, shady government organizations, and other bad actors–on the Dark Web. Hacking is a fact of life for businesses and consumers alike.