What is Darknet?
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A dark net or darknet is an overlay network within the Internet that can only be accessed with specific software, configurations, or authorization and often uses a unique customized communication protocol.
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Internet consists of three layers:
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Public Internet: The first layer is public, consisting of sites that one uses frequently such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and LinkedIn. This layer makes up only 4% of the entire internet.
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Deep Web: The second layer, the deep web, is a network where data is stored in inaccessible databases (i.e. cannot be accessed through traditional search engines like Google). It is used to provide access to a specific group of people. The data is generally sensitive and private (government private data, bank data, cloud data etc), so kept out of reach.
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Darknet:
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The third layer is the darknet which is also known as a part of the ‘Deep Web’. It is a network built over the internet which is encrypted.
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It is basically a layer of the Internet accessible only by using special software like TOR (The Onion Router), or I2P, which stands for Invisible Internet Project.
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Anything present on the dark web will not be pulled up in internet searches, thereby offering a high degree of anonymity.
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Concerns over Darknet:
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In February 2016, in a study titled ‘Cryptopolitik and the Darknet’, researchers analysed content over the TOR network.
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Of the 2,723 websites they could classify by content, 1,547 – 57 % – hosted illicit material ranging from drugs (423 sites), illegitimate pornography (122) and hacking (96), among others.
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There were also reports of log-in details of streaming sites like Netflix being sold on the dark web marketplaces for cheap rates.
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The network is also used by several activists especially those living under oppressive regimes to communicate without any government censorship.
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The TOR network was used by activists during the Arab Spring.
Darknet and India:
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The Information Technology Act, 2000 deals with cybercrime and comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. There are only six sections in the law that deal with cybercrime.
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With the changing times, India needs a code of criminal procedures dealing with cybercrime that would come under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which deals with policing issues.
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Also, there is a need for police, trained in changing cyber trends who are dedicated only to cybercrime and not transferred to other police units.