What is the Web?
“Web” is the common name for the World Wide Web (WWW), a collection of pages that can be easily accessed through any web browser. Unfortunately, some people today think that the Internet is just about search engines. However, the Internet is a whole world beyond those search engines. Within this broad framework, the Internet world is divided into three main layers.
- Surface Web
- Deep Web
- Dark Web
What is the Surface Web?
The layer with the widest reach in the web world is the Surface Web. It is also known as the visible web, the open web or the indexed web. This layer, where we carry out our daily online activities, is what most people think of when they have in mind the Internet. The Surface Web makes up only 5 per cent of the total internet. It can be easily visited without the need for any additional configuration using common search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing.
What is the Deep Web?
“Deep Web“, also known as “Hidden Web“, is the invisible face of the internet. The Deep Web includes websites, databases, files and other content that is not indexed or accessible by search engines. Websites on the Deep Web are different from regular websites. These sites are not indexed, are not found by search engines, and (usually) end with the special extension “.onion“. It is necessary to know the addresses of these sites or get them from a reliable source. It should be noted that much of the Deep Web is legal and legitimate. The purpose of the Deep Web is to protect the privacy and security of personal or sensitive data. The Deep Web accounts for approximately 95% of the total volume of the Internet. The exact size of the Deep Web is unknown because this hidden network is so widespread that it is impossible to determine the exact number of pages or websites that are active at any given time. However, it is predicted to be much larger than the Surface Web. The content of the Deep Web is often dynamically generated and does not use standard protocols. As a result, search engines cannot crawl or classify the Deep Web. The Deep Web hosts both legal and illegal content.
There are many reasons why the Deep Web is not crawled by search engines. Some of them are
- The owner of the web page can take technical measures to prevent the page from being indexed. For example, they can prevent search engines from crawling the page in the page’s robots.txt file, use “noindex” or “nofollow” commands in the page’s meta tags, hide the page’s links, or place barriers on the page such as password protection, CAPTCHA, TOR network.
- A web page can be created dynamically. For example, web pages such as databases, library archives, online banking, e-mail services may change according to the user’s request or input. These web pages may use URLs or IP addresses that are not suitable for search engines to crawl, or this content may not be detected by search engines, especially when using technologies such as AJAX, JavaScript, Flash.
- The web page may be kept hidden for legal or ethical reasons. For example, web pages such as information of public and private institutions, personal data, trade secrets, military or intelligence reports may contain content that is not intended to be seen by the public or may be harmful. These web pages may be protected or encrypted so that only authorized persons can access them.
The Deep Web is a mysterious and interesting aspect of the Internet. The Deep Web contains both useful and harmful content. Accessing the Deep Web may fulfil the user’s needs such as accessing information, learning, research, privacy, and security. However, accessing the Deep Web may also cause the user to face risks such as legal, ethical, psychological, technical. Therefore, when accessing the Deep Web, one should be careful, responsible and avoid illegal activities. The Deep Web also includes the part we know as the Dark Web. Although many news sources use the Deep Web and the Dark Web interchangeably, most of the Deep Web as a whole is completely legal and secure.
What is the Dark Web?
The Dark Web is a hidden and dangerous face of the Internet. The Dark Web is an encrypted and anonymous network that cannot be accessed with normal web browsers. To enter the Dark Web, authentication, VPN, special software, tools or equipment are often required. The most well-known of these tools are TOR and I2P. They encrypt and route network traffic to hide the users’ identities and activities. The Dark Web is thought to cover a very small part of the overall Internet, but the exact proportion cannot be determined.
Websites on the Dark Web are different from regular websites. These sites are often not indexed, not found by search engines, and may also use the special extension “.onion”. It is necessary to know the addresses of these sites or get them from a reliable source. All kinds of illegal and disturbing content can be found on the Dark Web. For example, drugs, weapons, forged documents, hit men, gambling, +18 sexual content, child sexual abuse, state secrets. In addition, the Dark Web contains pages of Ransomware groups, sales sites where stolen data is published for free or for a fee, forums where hackers carry out illegal activities, and other crime-oriented platforms.
The Dark Web is not only used for malicious purposes. The Dark Web is also a platform for those who want to access and share information, protect personal privacy and oppose censorship. For example, journalists, activists, oppositionists, human rights defenders, etc. can use the Dark Web. The Dark Web is part of internet freedom.
Surface Web, Deep Web and Dark Web are different layers of the Internet. The data contained in these layers are important sources for CTI (Cyber Threat Intelligence). CTI means collecting, analysing and using information about cyber threats to prevent, detect and respond to cyber attacks. Data from these layers can provide valuable intelligence for CTI, but this requires appropriate tools, techniques and skills. If you want to learn more about CTI, you can read Cyber Threat Intelligence Concepts article.
Cyberthint allows users to search, filter data and report on these layers. Cyberthint provides a powerful and flexible solution for cyber threat intelligence (CTI). Cyberthint also helps users learn whether their data is exposed without entering the Deep Web and Dark Web. With the Data Leakage Monitoring (Deep/Dark Web Monitoring) service, one of the many services offered by Cyberthint, you can check whether the information of your company, company executives and company employees is leaked. This service continuously monitors published stolen data and detects leaks. Thus, users can take the necessary precautions to ensure data security and reduce cyber risks.
