Understanding the Deep Web and Dark Web

Did you know when you search the web, you’re only scratching the surface? Below that is an encrypted network where both legitimate and illegal activities take place. It’s the biggest portion of the internet you don’t know about. In this blog, we discuss what you need to understand about the deep web and dark web.

The Deep Web

Content on the deep web is not searchable by standard search engines such as Google or Bing. This doesn’t mean all information on the deep web is illegal; most is perfectly legitimate. Because so much confidential and sensitive data is stored online, it needs to be protected by a secure method of authentication. As a result, many legitimate e-commerce vendors and financial institutions, including your bank, hide deep web content behind HTTP forms and password-protected logins to protect consumer and financial data from being stolen and compromised. Amazingly, many experts estimate that Deep Web content makes up 80-90 percent of the entire internet, and the remaining 10 percent is what we can see as we’re browsing.

The Dark Web

The dark web, or “dark net,” is a sinister layer of the deep web where people purposely hide information. You can’t use your web browser to reach the dark web. Content on the dark web can only be accessed with special applications and a special browser.

The dark web is home to a network of illegal activity and serves as a complex marketplace of stolen data. Criminals use the dark web to sell drugs, stolen social security numbers, credit card information, medical records, and more. For example, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that stolen US military drone documents were found for sale on the dark web.

The US government has actively targeted illegal activities on the Dark Web for several years. One of the most famous dark web marketplaces, called Silk Road, was shut down by the FBI in 2013. More recently, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement team, with the goal of “disrupting the sale of drugs via the darknet and dismantling criminal enterprises that facilitate this trafficking.”

What to Know and Why You Should Care

Most executives, business owners, and even security professionals don’t have a thorough understanding of the dark web. Since malicious actors hide within the dark web, you must be able to detect threats and manage your vulnerabilities. Otherwise, your organization, customers, and employees can fall victim to fraud and identity theft. Partner with a data security company that understands the Dark Web and can help you proactively seek out and block its potential threats—and those originating elsewhere—before they can do damage

Reclamere knows how to help your organization detect and protect against dark web threats. One of our in-house experts, Connie Mastovich, recently separated Deep Web and Dark Web myth from reality in her presentation at the Ethics & Compliance Initiative Fellows Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.

We are data security experts, serving as a Virtual Chief Security Officer and information security ally to businesses in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. For more information, please call us at 814-684-5505 or complete the form on this page.