Why we need a "Dark Web"

Why we need a Dark Web
Jeroen Baert - @jbaert
De Privacyproef – Ghent, 2017 / 06 / 01

Why we need a Dark Web - @jbaert
About me
● Jeroen Baert (@jbaert)
– Engineer – Computer Scientist
– PhD Student (Computer Graphics
@ KU Leuven)
– Improv / Stand-up comedian
● Belgian Improv League
– jeroen-baert.be – forceflow.be
– PGP: 30F2 857D 9129 3519

GRAPHICS! ALL THE GRAPHICS!
● Out-of-core construction and visualisation of
Sparse Voxel Octree structures on modern GPU
hardware
NOT TODAY

BAD NEWS EVERYONE

The internet is broken because ...
● TRACKING
– Websites, apps, …
– Ads = Trackers (+ malware vector)
– Without knowledge or consent
● Everybody hates reading ToS / Cookie warnings
– Profiling / identifying you
● Content is not free
– Business model: You pay with private data

Tracking: Websites
● Belgian news sites
– Not only connect to site itself
– Background: 30+ third-party connections
http://www.forceflow.be/2015/11/11/tracking-users-across-websites-wheres-my-data-going/

Tracking: Websites (2)
● Third parties following you across ALL sites

Tracking: People Farmers
● Facebook =
“People Farmer”
– Build advertising profile
– Everywhere you see
– All over the web
– Logging out won’t help
– Behavioural Advertising
Tech
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/01/facebook-advertising-data-insecure-teens

Tracking: Big Data = Big Business
● Cambridge Analytica
– Buy/collect massive amounts of data
● From Social Media, web trackers, ...
– Data mining & analysis
– Political microtargeting
● Influenced Brexit, Trump Victory
● Would be impossible without
current state of the internet to
gather tracking data
Adam Curtis – Hypernormalization (2016)

The internet is broken because of...
● CENSORSHIP
– Internet services not
decentralized = easy to censor
– Easy to filter at ISP level
● Packet inspection, DNS block ...
– For a lot of people: Internet =
Social Media Platforms
– Private companies decide
● What you see
● When you see it
● What you can and cannot share

Censorship
● Turkey
– Protests: National
shutdown of all social
media
– Sharing Erdogan cartoons
= block
● China
– “Great Firewall of China”
– No Wikipedia (no
“Tiananmen Square”)

Centralization: DNS
● October 2016
– Infected IoT devices (Mirai worm)
– DdoS attack on Dyn.org (DNS provider)
● DNS : 9.21.102.183 → Paypal.com
– Twitter, Paypal, Spotify, … hit

● Not designed with ANONIMITY in mind
● Not designed with PRIVACY in mind
● Problem for
– Journalists (protect identity sources)
– Activists / Whistleblowers (face prosecution)
● Snowden / Manning
– Companies (protect communication)
– Everyone

● Using the internet = leaking very personal info
– Sites you visit tell your (intimate) story (Tim Berners-Lee)
– American ISP’s : Selling your browsing history
● Technical identifiers:
– IP address
● In the clear (by design), (pretty) unique Identifier
– HTTP protocol and Browsers
● Provide unique footprint
● Time, Browser, Version, plugins, screen size, GPU, IP, Network,
Settings, …
● Check it yourself! amiunique.org

Am I Unique? - amiunique.org

We need an alternative web
● The internet is a wonderful place
– But by design, it makes it easy to
track, censor and identify users
● Need alternative, different network
with better privacy properties

Enter ...
THE “DARK WEB”

The “Dark Web”
● A lot of
misconceptions
– Blame:
● Media & Politics
● Technical nature
● Confusing terminology
● “Dark Web” is
actually really
interesting from
privacy POV

“Dark Web” versus “Normal Web”
● Often explained:
– Surface web
– Deep web
– Dark web
● But Dark Web is:
– Alternative, parallel
– Can be used to access
surface web
D
A
R
K
W
E
B

Dark Web(s)
● There is no such thing as one Dark Web
● Alternative networks focused on privacy:
– Tor (The onion router)
● Most popular, we’ll focus on this
– I2P Project
– Freenet
– … (TRY THEM ALL!)
● All different specifications / properties

Tor: The Onion Router
● Most popular alternative network
● Open-Source
– Original development: US Navy, DARPA
– Now: Non-profit org
– Network nodes run by volunteers
– Endorsed: EFF, HRW, Amnesty, …
– Unrelated to torrents
● Internal content:
– Websites hosted on the Tor network : “Hidden services”
● Link with Surface Web

Tor: How it works

Tor: The onion
Acpe 2014 Internet Anonymity Using Tor

Tor: How does it protect you
● Anonimity / Privacy
– Original IP stays hidden
– Strong encryption
– New circuit for every site
● Cannot track users across websites
– No logs

TOR: How does it protect you (2)
● Anti-censorship
– Internal Tor content cannot be censored
● Nobody knows where it’s hosted
– Circumvents surface web censorship
● Exit nodes in different countries
– Tor traffic can be “disguised”
● As regular traffic: Browsing, Skype Call, …
● Very hard to filter at ISP level

Tor: Current status
● Network = growing

Tor: Detecting censorship events
● Censorship events = sudden peak in TOR usage

The “Dark Web” is not illegal
● Using an alternative network is not illegal
● You are simply using a
– Different communication protocol
– Different way to exchange information
– Different way to output 0’s and 1’s
● Like you do for a lot of other things
– E-mail protocol: POP3 / IMAP

● Media get it wrong all the time

● National council of medical professionals:

The “Dark Web” and criminality
● Alternative networks are not
exclusively used for criminal
activities
● Technology = inherently neutral
● Protecting your identity &
privacy
● Useful services
– Blogging platforms
– E-mail / File storage
– News
– Whistleblowing services
– ...

The “Dark Web” and criminality
● What about
– Drugs / Guns / Fake ID’s?
– Terrorist forums? Murder plots?
● Same % of services on Surface Web
● A lot of Hidden Web services are scams
– Anonimity + untraceable Bitcoin
● Hidden Web is actually tiny
– 7k – 30k sites = 0.03% of surface web

The “Dark Web” and child pornography
● Child pornography is a problem
on every network
● Research by Internet Watch
Foundation (2015)
– 31,266 URLs with CP content
– 51 (0.2%) on Dark Web
● Break association Dark Web ↔
CP
– Without ignoring /
minimalizing CP problem

Using the “Dark Web”
● Using the Dark Web does not require advanced
technical knowledge
● For example, Tor:
– Go to www.torproject.org
– Download the TOR Browser Bundle
– Install
– Go!

Tor on your desktop: Browser Bundle
● Custom version of Firefox
– Great browser
– Pre-configured for Tor
– Masked fingerprint
– Scripts blocked by default
– Auto-updater
● Safety out-of-the-box

Tor on your phone: Orbot
● Android: Orbot
– In Play Store
– VPN for all traffic
– Free
● iOS
– Onion Browser
– App Store
– Free

Maybe start using it ...
● Unsafe networks
– Free wifi networks
● All the time?
● More users = more diversity = more security

Tor: Helping the network
● Run a TOR node
– I run a node!
● Dystopia:
CCE6294300F6E075733E247DD05ADFE9875BCF
08
– VPS / Self-hosted
– Limit bandwidth
● Donate at
torservers.net

● Webmasters / IT:
– Don’t block Tor usage
– Don’t block Tor exit nodes
● Other ways to mitigate abuse (Captcha, …)
● If you use Cloudflare: explicitly allow Tor
● See Tor Abuse FAQ:
– https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq-abuse.html.en

● Media / Press
– Offer your site as a Hidden Service
– Set up a SecureDrop

● Programmers / Writers / Educators/ Jurists /
Enthousiasts / Designers
– Development
– Documentation
– Discussion
– Education
– Assist with legal issues of running Tor nodes

And you ...
● Try it!
● Spread the word
– Educate friends & family
– Talk to your IT department
– “Well actually” when you hear misconceptions

Questions?
@jbaert
Jeroen.baert@cs.kuleuven.be
Poke me @reception
“The internet is a mirror which reflects the society we live in. If you don’t like what
you see, don’t break the mirror.” - Vint Cerf

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