The internet is widely accessible today, can be termed a necessity, and can be found in every other household. It has become an integral part of our lives, but surprisingly enough, not all parts of the internet are accessible through easy and traditional means. The Internet is typically divided into three sections: the Surface Web, the Deep Web, and the Dark Web.
The Surface Web
The surface web comprises everything a typical user generally searches for online. That includes all your Wikipedia searches, accessing your social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as including all the search engines such as Google and Bing, among others. What’s surprising is that everything we use and surf is just 4% of the internet! The surface web data is always available in the public domain. One of the most popular iceberg analogies shall help in understanding the level of bifurcation in surface, deep & dark web.
The Deep Web
The deep web can be considered private, yet it can be accessed if you have the necessary privileges. To simplify it, consider all the information on the deep web behind locked doors. All the data stored behind these doors are protected by passwords & subscriptions. If you try to search directly for this information, you will get an error message or will be redirected elsewhere. Hence, you need the necessary privileges to access this type of data as it contains confidential data. Many people can confuse the deep web with the dark web, but that isn’t the case. The deep web is filled with private and restricted information to outsiders. No bots or search engines will directly show you the data stored on the deep web, as you cannot just go to your neighbour’s backyard!
The Dark Web
The Dark Web is a hidden corner of the internet that standard search engines cannot index, and neither can be accessed via regular web browsers. These sites are only accessible through specific software, such as Tor (The Onion Router), which uses a high level of encryption and a series of relays to hide the user’s location & activity, making it easy to maintain anonymity. The Dark Web is also home to several underground marketplaces where illegal goods and services are bought and sold. It is a hub for illicit activities, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, selling firearms, stolen data, and even human trafficking. These marketplaces operate anonymously and use cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, to ensure that transactions are untraceable. This makes it even more difficult for law enforcement to track illegal activities on the Dark Web.
Along with cybercriminals, free speech activists, whistle-blowers, and many journalists frequently use the dark web to communicate anonymously. In such cases, the question arises whether it is illegal to access the Dark Web. The simple answer is no. It is legal to access the dark web if you wish to explore this area further, but things can change quickly when the dark web is used for any malicious activity such as blackmail, fraud or selling/purchasing of any illegal goods. It is a thin line when a particular user is trying to access the dark web, say for example a whistle-blower is leaking information which can be technically termed as an illegal activity or breaking the law, but the whistle-blower might be helping law enforcement in revealing the malpractices of the organization.
To wrap up, despite a few grey areas, it is okay to maintain your privacy and surf anonymously on the dark web unless you are breaking any laws. One should only use the dark web if one can completely understand the difference between genuine activists and a group of hackers. Despite popular belief, a few TOR sites do not engage in criminal activity.