Every so often, a news story about the dark web makes the headlines. Sometimes, it’s the successful bust of a criminal ring. More often, though, they remind us it’s a hotbed of criminal activity that shelters the most heinous among us and seems impenetrable.
Why is that? Why can’t the good guys just storm in, dismantle the servers that run the websites, and arrest everyone? Like everything in life, things aren’t black & white like that. This article examines the leading reasons why criminals on the dark web continue to elude justice.
Anonymity
Most websites are part of the dark web because of shady activities. The “dark” in the “dark web” also refers to the lack of indexing by popular search engines. That means you have to know such a site’s exact address and possibly even more information before you can gain access.
Apart from being hard to find, some dark websites will block conventional browsers. The Tor browser is a popular means of accessing them due to being built with anonymity at the forefront. It routes user traffic through three relays before connecting to the destination website. Each relay handles part of the connection’s encryption, making it extremely hard to track the source.
The advent of cryptocurrencies has made conducting illicit business online easier as well. The decentralized ledger systems such currencies use to track transactions deal with wallets, not persons. For criminals, creating an anonymous wallet to launder and extort money or pay for services offered on the dark web is a safer alternative than using conventional banking or relying on large cash sums.
Having said this, neither the Tor browser nor cryptocurrencies are inherently bad. For example, citizens in oppressive regimes, journalists, and whistle-blowers use Tor to expose crime and fight for the democratization of their societies. What purposes these tools serve depends on the moral compass of whoever uses them.
Lack of Resources
Online criminal activity is at an all-time high and is projected to expand. Even though they’re trying to keep up, law enforcement agencies are facing a shortage of resources and manpower.
On the one hand, transitioning into cybercrime isn’t as easy as going from homicide to vice. Prospective candidates need a technical background and extensive training before they can start actively contributing to cyber investigations.
On the other hand, there’s a lack of funding. Many governments either lack the resources or don’t take the threat seriously enough. This leads to poor coverage and underfunded departments (if they exist at all).
Jurisdiction Issues
Developed nations have started forming dedicated task forces and cooperating to greater effect. Takedowns like Operation SpecTor demonstrate how a coordinated investigation can expose hundreds of crooks and seize illegal goods worth millions. This is excellent for busting local crime rings. But what about actors in countries law enforcement has no jurisdiction over?
Even if anonymity weren’t an issue, the dark web still houses and connects criminals from across the globe. Anyone with internet access could potentially learn how to create phishing emails or ransomware. People in less privileged countries often do this to get far more money than they could by honest means.
Their country of residence could have no extradition treaties or even be actively hostile toward the victims’ home countries. That creates tense situations where criminals are simultaneously known and free to do their dirty work.
How to Protect Yourself & Not Become a Victim
The only way for law enforcement to expose criminal behavior on the dark web is to be as crafty as the criminals. You can apply a similar strategy for your online activity to significantly improve your cyber defenses.
For example, you should start using a VPN for improved connection security. There are many great VPN uses, but what it does essentially doesn’t change. VPN creates a tunnel – a secure and encrypted communication channel – between you and the internet. That way, you can browse, shop, or exchange sensitive information with your employer without fear of exposure.
Our negligence and forgetfulness are to blame for many data breaches, so brush up on your cybersecurity essentials. Stop using duplicate or similar passwords. Protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication. Learn how to avoid phishing scams.
The first steps of learning to protect your privacy may also be the first steps to understanding how you could add to the exposure of criminals. Law enforcement agencies will always search for specialists who can help them expose wrongdoers in the vast world of online crime.
