Dark Web growing to include 'various crimes and heinous actions'

Posted April 18, 2022

By Kaitlyn Borresen and Mila Romero

Cub Investigative Reporters

Theft of personal credentials is an issue on both the Surface and Deep web, which refers to a part of the web not reachable by conventional search engines and only accessible by sophisticated software and tools. The dark web is an inner layer of the deep web that uses special encryption software to hide users' identities and activities. On both the deep and dark web, the black market and underground forums have become more prominent in the last few years.

“Various crimes and heinous actions are prevalent in this part of the web, including novice and professional hackers either for fun deeds or for making gains through extortion, sabotaging networks, or stealing organizations' data,” States computer science professors Randa Basheer and Bassel Alkhatib in a paper detailing threats from the dark web.

Users remain anonymous on the dark web by using applications like Tor. Tor, also known as The Onion Router, was created by three mathematicians at the Naval Research Laboratory. It is dubbed The Onion Router because the system consists of repeating layers of random relays, hiding the computer’s IP address which hides its physical location. Tor claims it protects its users from all law enforcement scrutiny, and that their illegal activity will stay hidden, but

“Dark web content can only be accessed through a specific means provided by the host of the content. Given the obscurity of dark web content, it should come as no surprise that the vast majority of it is, in one way or another, criminal.” Says software technician Tom Pickering.

After a cybercriminal obtains personal credentials through cyberattacks like phishing, ransomware, or viruses, they can post or sell the information online. Other users can then access the material. Several actions were observed and categorized by the University of London Professors in 2018. A “Curious Logger” performed no action in the leaked account, but accessed it, sometimes repeatedly. “Spammers” would send spam from the leaked account to exploit the trust between the account owner and their contacts. A “Hijacker” changes account passwords and take full control, preventing the original owner from having access. “Gold Diggers” would hunt through emails to find sensitive information in hope of monetizing it.

Hosts of online markets could have their stores shut down by authorities time, but because of the intense supply and demand, another shop will just replace it. Law enforcement’s ongoing struggle to stop online crime has led them to take a scientific stance, studying the inner workings of these markets to gain a fuller understanding of buyer and seller.

One example of an online market taken down by authorities is Silk Road, the first modern darknet market. Created by American computer scientist Ross Ulbricht, users could sell and buy illegal items, like narcotics, weapons, information, and services. operated as a Tor hidden service, and by using bitcoin, an untraceable cryptocurrency, all transactions were hidden. Created in 2011, it ran until 2013 when the FBI shut it down and arrested Ross Ulbricht on charges of narcotics trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering. He was found guilty on all counts and is serving two life sentences plus 40 years. Other buyers and sellers were also charged and served time for their activity on the Silk Road.

USA Today reported in 2013 that Keith Bristow, director of Britain's National Crime Agency, said after the Silk Road arrests, "These arrests send a clear message to criminals: The hidden Internet isn't hidden, and your anonymous activity isn't anonymous. We know where you are, what you are doing and we will catch you," The criminals, he said, "always make mistakes."

The education sector has made its way to becoming the most targeted by ransomware hackers throughout recent years. From 2016 to 2019, 855 U.S schools have faced cyber attacks, including Centennial High.

“Centennial School District (CSD) discovered on April 26 that certain digital files had been encrypted by an unknown source,” Stated Elizabeth Philbrick in a past Highlander story. “The district took its technology systems offline as a safety measure so hackers couldn’t access any more information. The district also reported the breach to federal investigators, hired a cybersecurity firm, and launched its investigation into how the system could have been hacked.”

The Dark Web is secret internet access for just about any illegal matter. School districts have had their personal information leaked to the dark web through ransomware attacks. The information leaked could include Student’s first and last names, social security numbers, special education information, postal addresses, and the private data of staff members.

Students in David Douglas are now being required to take a freshman digital literacy course covering an education unit that teaches students how to avoid hackers, phishing attacks, and how to protect their accounts. It teaches general digital applications used for work purposes along with the digital dangers of the internet.

“I don’t feel scared because we block so many websites and you can’t use unauthorized accounts which hold personal information. Also, the tech guy is pretty reliable so I’m sure we are all in good hands.” says sophomore Tyler Lamar.