Every day, you visit only a tiny portion of the internet. The “surface web” is followed by the deep web, and within the deep web lurks the dark web. Discover what the dark web is and how to get there safely so that you can keep your sensitive information private.
In addition to offering near-perfect anonymity and protection from authoritarian governments, the dark web has emerged as a powerful underground market where sophisticated criminals engage in drug trafficking, identity theft, child pornography, and other unlawful activities. Close collaboration between law enforcement, financial institutions, and regulators around the world is required to tighten the screws on illicit activities, with untraceable cryptocurrency serving as the main payment method.
New dark web domains emerge and others fade, which makes sense because some of these sites might be selling questionable or illicit goods and services.
Over the last several years, the international community has made significant progress in addressing these problems by improving information sharing, enhancing law enforcement’s technical capabilities to shut down large illicit marketplaces, and restricting cryptocurrency transaction transfers.
The dark web is the internet’s equivalent of a black market. Because it is intentionally hidden and requires a specialist browser to access, most individuals will never encounter or interact with it.