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Recently, the police in Kerala have arrested a youth from Muvattupuzha who is also a mechanical engineer for distributing drugs on the dark web. As per the investigation, he capitalized on the anonymity of the site to reach out to buyers and exchange illicit items. His arrest shows the increasing abuse of the dark web in India for drug trade and other cyber offenses.

What is a Dark Web?

The dark web is a hidden part of the internet which you can not find using common search engines like Google or Bing. The dark web requires special tools such as the Tor browser  to access its content mainly. Most websites here use the “.onion” domain and remain invisible to traditional search engines.

Dark web is usually equated with illicit activities based on its anonymity. It includes black markets offering drugs, weapons, hacking tools and stolen information.

Is the Dark Web Illegal?

The dark web itself is not illegal, as is the Tor browser or other software that allows users to visit it. Apart from criminal networks, the dark web also features social networks, communities and forums which exist within legal parameters. It also serves as an outlet for users, including activists and journalists for exchanging information anonymously and securely.

Is the Dark Web Available?

In fact, the users can have access to the dark web if they have proper tools. So, the answer to this question is yes. Dark web can be accessed by using special networks like Tor, that exists to ensure anonymous communication. Tor passes a user’s internet connection through various servers all over the world, encrypting the information at each point along the way to hide the user’s identity.

Is Dark Web Illegal in India?

In India, mere access to the dark web is not illegal. There is no law that prevents the usage of dark net browsers like Tor. However, access to the dark web for criminal activities including drug dealing, child exploitation, or hacking is a criminal act and is punishable under Indian cyber laws.

The users should also be careful, as even inadvertent viewing of prohibited or unlawful material may result in legal issues. Governments tend to track darknet activity to monitor illicit networks that use these undercover platforms.

Is the Dark Web Tracked?

Owing to its strong level of encryption, the dark web is very hard to track users. Sites cannot identify a visitor‘s geolocation or IP address, and users do not have access to this information about the host either. Communication among darknet users is highly encrypted, enabling individuals to communicateblog, or exchange files secretly. Yetlaw enforcement units do monitor illegal activities on the dark web using sophisticated cyber-surveillance tools and undercover investigations.

Dark web also has a positive side. Safe sites such as SecureDrop enable whistleblowers to provide confidential and secret information anonymously, and in highly censored nations on the internet, it grants access to unfiltered news and information. It is even used by hospitals and organizations for information protection too.

Dark web is a powerful double-edged sword. It allows privacy and freedom of expression, but its anonymity also powers criminal networks. The Kerala engineer’s arrest proves that law enforcement agencies are targeting illegal activity online to a greater extent, even in the furthest depths of the internet.

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