A lot of people think the dark web is such a bad place that it needs to be “shut down”.
The dark web – those parts of the internet only accessible by special web browsers such as Tor – is popular with criminals for hiding their illegal websites, such as the notorious Silk Road marketplace.
A recent study of websites on the dark web found that abut 57% of them hosted activities like cybercrime and drugs, and illegal content such as illegitimate porn and violent extremism.
But hidden services on the dark web are also used for good – such as by whistleblowers, human rights activists and journalists to protect their identities.
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Many people think the dark web should be closed off, according to a survey commissioned by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and conducted by global research company Ipsos.
The survey of 24,000 internet users in 24 countries claims that 71% of people wouldn’t mind seeing the back of the darknet.
The survey found some variation across the globe, but there were no countries where a majority of people unequivocally said, “Keep it going.”
Indonesia (85%), India (82%), Mexico (80%) had the most antagonists, with Kenya (61%), South Korea (61%) and Sweden (61%) at the bottom of the list.
Although these percentages are reported by the survey as representing “global citizens [who] say the darknet should be shut down,” they are computed by including in the total those who only “somewhat agree.” Only 35% of respondents overall actually “strongly agreed” with a shutdown, and in only two countries (Mexico and Tunisia) were the “strongly agrees” in the majority.
There’s a serious debate raging right now about how we should respond to abuses of technology.
Encryption, which is a vital component in protecting everyone’s privacy and anonymity, can also be used by bad people to do bad things and to stay hidden.
As a result, some people think encryption that can’t be cracked when expedient poses too great a risk to safety and security.
Others, including Sophos, think that encryption that can be cracked on demand poses a bigger risk, especially if law-abiding users and companies are forced to adopt it.
Does trying to limit technologies such as encryption or the dark web really stop criminals and terrorists?
Eric Jardine, CIGI research fellow and a dark web expert, said closing down the dark web is “not a viable long-term solution” for stopping abuses:
The anonymity of the technology of the dark net cuts both ways – while people can use the network for villainous purposes, people can also use it for good. Despite public opinion, shuttering anonymity networks is not a viable long-term solution, as it will probably prove ineffective and will be costly to those people that genuinely benefit from these systems.
Image of closed sign courtesy of Shutterstock.com.
Mike
I am confused as to what stops someone making a parallel dark net tomorrow.
Will
Sort of the beauty of the Internet, I suppose. Not that I condone any illegal activity, but if it were shut down another technology would come along to replace it. I think of it like anything with the potential for misuse/abuse. Nuclear energy has many benefits, but similar experimentation led to the creation of one of the most destructive weapons known to man. Should we eliminate any and all use of nuclear technology?
Dave
Leave it alone. Never “been there,” probably never will, but leave it alone. That said, the Gov’s should make using the internet for ANY nefarious purpose (Robo Callers, f’rinstance!) a capital crime, no appeal from a speedy trial, no 2nd guessing. Of course, I volunteer to be Chief Judge. ;<{O
Will
While I’m sure you were being intentionally hyperbolic, casting a net that wide would likely leave us with the same types of minor offenses like public urination becoming a sexual offense requiring registration. Disgusting yes, but hardly sexual.
Also think about all the ludicrously long sentences thrown at those charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act – leading to the suicide of Aaron Swartz in at least one case, and the ruining of countless other lives for acts with minimal harm or an altogether altruistic origin.
Kyle Saia
Dave, it already is! robo callers is questionable, but buying or selling drugs, or ordering a hit man are illegal. the problem is the bad buy don’t play by the rules, so making more rules won’t fix the problem.
Spryte
I have to agree with Mr. Jardine…
Anonymous
Never been there….Leave it alone…
Ed
I’m not sure Sophos is an expert on encryption. Their Endpoint software checks URL’s by sending them off using ROT13 encrypted http. Not exactly state of the art.
Paul Ducklin
True, but that’s not meant to be encryption (errr, obviously :-), just obfuscation that stops a packet sniffing IDS (one that does text matches on content without much context) from panicking.
Tom
The NSA has to have something to do besides using Narus computers to inspect all Internet traffic.
Stampy
98% of those questioned want ISIS (Daesh) shutdown. Just as likely to happen!
Mike C
We shouldn’t forget that the “Darkweb” is another collective mainstream term that is layman-friendly and simplistically gives the impression of a borderless network. These are effectively obfuscated web servers that use layered encryption to hide their server / IP addresses in the same way as the end user accessing through their secure (TOR) client. It’s exceptionally laborious and technically extremely difficult to bypass those protocols, physically locate and shut down the servers, never mind the collective set comprising the Darkweb. As has been seen from previous sting operations where national law enforcement agencies and security intelligence service providers collaborate, the intelligence value of these networks is significant so there may be just cause to carefully consider timing of any takedown activities.
VogBedrog
The result is hardly surprising, given that the only time most people hear about the dark net is in conjunction with criminal cases. Just media bias shaping public perception.
And what a daft question! How would one even go about ‘shutting down’ the dark net – or almost any part of the internet for that matter?
Paul Ducklin
Pass a law, of course! (Only kidding.)
Chuck
Tor hidden services is a fraction of overall tor traffic. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Freedom of speech without fear is a good thing.