The Surface Web, Deep Web and Dark Web Explained and the Top Five Ways You Can Stay Safe On Them8/31/2020 By: Zoe Ibraj
Do you want to find out where that guy you met on Tinder lives? Just look up his name in Yellow Pages, his address will probably come up, along with his phone number as well. Do you want to find out where that person you met the other day goes to school? That’s easy, just check her Instagram bio. Do you want to know where your seventh grade ex-boyfriend resides now? It’s most likely on his Facebook, just look up his name. Our information is everywhere and so easily accessible to everyone. And what’s the harm? Everyone posts their entire lives on social media today. In fact, it’s how we network, meet new people, find new opportunities, and so much more. But how can you keep your information safe from getting into the wrong hands? Knowledge about someone that can be easily accessed is called open source information (or the “surface web”). This is defined by intelligence researcher Jeffrey T. Richelson as, “verbal, written, or electronically transmitted material that can be obtained legally.” In other words, any information you can find with a simple search through normal browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) that can be obtained without the use of a password or other methods of authentication. This includes newspaper articles written about someone and public social media accounts. However, this isn’t all of the information someone probably has online. Take a moment to think about how much of your information is actually on the internet. Not just your social media, but your iCloud and Google Drive, your emails, medical records, bank information (including credit and debit card numbers), and abundantly more. Although this information may not be indexed by Google or other search engines, it can still be accessed through authorization. Any intelligence like this is known as the deep web (not to be mistaken with the dark web). More often than not, this information is obtained illegally through hacking, as it is private. Unfortunately, if someone receives access to too much information about someone through surface web and/or deep web information, they have the power to do dangerously malicious things, which include but are not limited to: stalking, identity theft, business sabotage, and money laundering. In fact, there are special market places which sell identities, bank accounts, stolen documents and other illicities online. These are found on the dark web. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the dark web is defined as, “The part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable.” In other words, this part of the internet cannot be accessed through normal web browsers/search engines; one cannot simply “come across” the dark web, they must look for it. Most of it is found through a search engine called The Onion Router, which houses untraceable content that cannot be found on the surface or deep web. In addition, it is important to note that while on the deep web or surface web, one cannot be anonymous, as all actions are traced to your service provider. However, the dark web allows a system in which actions are non-traceable, allowing one to keep their anonymity. This allows many criminals to keep their locations and identities a secret when posting illicit content to the dark web. Although most people do not access the dark web on a regular basis, it still may be dangerous to us, especially if our online information is not protected. Therefore, here are five important steps to keeping safe on the internet.
As stated by McAfee AntiVirus Company, “creating strong, unique passwords for all your critical accounts really is the best way to keep your personal and financial information safe. This is especially true in the era of widespread corporate hacks, where one database breach can reveal tens of thousands of user passwords.” In fact, did you know that (according to Verizon, an American telephone and internet provider), 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses. Therefore, by creating strong passwords, you not only save your identity, but your family and your business as well. As a rule of thumb, the National Security Alliance recommends that one should make their password a sentence: “A strong password is a sentence that is at least 12 characters long. Focus on positive sentences or phrases that you like to think about and are easy to remember (for example, “I love country music.”)” They also state that capitalization, letters with accents, and special characters are a great way to intensify the difficulty of a password. 2. Multi-Factor Authentication Another way to boost your password security is multifactor authentication. Most social media networks and bank websites will allow you to do this in their settings option. In addition to your password, one will be required to do another task before being able to log into the account. This can be a special code sent to your phone/email, a security question, or a magic link sent to your email. According to the Google Online Security Blog, a study that was conducted about two factor authentication made 86% of consumers feel more confident in their internet security. 3. Watch Where You Click Nowadays, links are even trickier than they were before. As we know, links can be tied to criminal websites that can install malware and viruses onto our devices. However, this has gotten worse. Today, anyone can disguise a link as something legitimate that directs one to the exact website it said it would. However, this link can also track your IP address, giving the person a rough geographical location. Although you wouldn’t know that they tracked your IP address, it would appear on their screen. In addition, links that begin in “https” instead of “http” are safer, as the “s” indicates that the website uses encryption to hide your data from others, especially when online shopping. This is known as an SSL certificate. 4. If it’s too good to be true, don’t even bother A survey website that will pay you $20.00 for every survey you complete? A prince in Nigeria who wants to bless you with his good fortune? Wow, aren’t we so lucky that these opportunities just appear in our inboxes? It is essential that we use rationality and logic while online. Certain websites/emails from unknown senders will often try to get your personal information while making it seem like they’re doing you a favour (for example, that survey website can say that they want your bank information to transfer you the money you’ve earned). Illegitimate sources will do their very best to disguise themselves as trustworthy sites, so be careful. Typos, no SSL certificates, and need for too much information are just some red flags. 5. Careful what you share The internet doesn’t need to know everything about your life. In fact, extreme personal information is exactly what criminals want to sell on the dark web. In an age where most jobs and school applications are done online, it is likely that most of our information (such as current workplace, school, email address, etc.) is on our social media. This is fine, but keep it limited. For instance, share your email address, but not your phone number or share your first name and last name, but not your middle name. Make sure information like your social security number is also nowhere to be found online, even if it's under authentication. Should you need any assistance with database inquiries, surveillance, or any other OSINT inquiries, it is recommended that you reach out to a private investigation company, such as Haywood Hunt and Associates, based in the GTA, which uses legal, legit, and offers intelligence above other private investigation companies. Find them here: https://www.haywoodhunt.ca Altogether, it is vital that we educate ourselves on different aspects of the internet, as all parts of it are becoming increasingly relevant in our daily lives. In addition, our guards must be up and we should remain alert and aware, for the safety of ourselves, our work, and those we love.
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