Chor Bazar of Internet - Dark Markets

Dark Markets On Internet - इंटरनेट का चोर बाज़ार

As you learn about cybersecurity, you will come across an entity known as the dark market places. These are virtual Chor Bazars but much more lethal. These market places  are a subsets of the deep web, which is the part of the internet that can’t be accessed through ordinary search engines like Mozilla,Google or Bing. Much of the illegal activity that takes place on the internet happens on the dark web because this place is private and accessed anonymously through a special type of web browser only making  difficult for  Cyber security professionals to trace.

How They Operate

These places are accessible through special browser, such as Tor, and VPN is used to keep user anonymous on dark web. Tor also keeps  users’ identities anonymous by bouncing communications off many random locations so that it can’t be easily traced. Authorities in various countries work hard to crack Tor,  it is still the most private way to connect to the internet.

Many people use Tor out of their concern about privacy on the internet, but it has also become a safe haven for terrorists, criminals, illicit arms dealers and drug paddlers , carders because it is so difficult, if not impossible, to trace them. Child pornography, illegal drugs, arms and terror activity, think of any kind of illegalities,all are available on the dark market places .

Is A Person In Danger On The Dark Market Place?

While most of the activity accessed through Tor is not illegal, the dark web does have  criminals freely using it for illegal purposes. Even if you don’t access the dark web to pursue anything illegal, you may run into criminals there and get caught up in something you never intended to be involved with.

Like hanging out in a mob restaurant, you may find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time and get caught in the crossfire. If authorities do end up catching cybercriminals in the act, you could end up drawn into the investigation ,  authorities can prove you had contact with them. Some authorities may even consider you guilty just for associating with cybercriminals on the dark web even if you haven’t done anything wrong yourself.

Hackers often frequent the dark web space to share information and sell malicious software to others. 

The Dangers Of Malware And Ransomware. Another danger of the dark web is malware and ransomware—most malware is transmitted over the dark web and then used on public access websites, so being on the dark web can put you in danger of coming into contact with malware or ransomware that can cripple your business or even steal your identity.

Malware is the main danger of the dark web for those that don’t frequent it, such as business users, since malware accessed on the dark web can be used to target any business or individual. 

Training in cybersecurity methods and principles is the best way to help businesses to combat the effects of the dark web.

Many people access the Dark Web markets, it’s important to be  aware of the dangers there. Due to the nature of the money crossing hands, users of Darknet markets should be extra wary while using the services available.

For example, if someone is buying illegal items, such as drugs, an illegal service or other things on the dark web, the user’s internet service provider (ISP), the government, law enforcement agencies, and police could all be monitoring the internet traffic to detect and monitor these transactions.

They can then trace the user, identify them as far down as their name and address, and act accordingly. While this is great for protecting a country, the problems arise since hackers can do the same thing. 

By logging and reverse searching your IP address, they can locate and identify the user. This means they could infect his computer with malicious software; they could steal his personal details like his bank information, or even directly drain his account.

With all the risks in mind, it’s best to protect of its own.

The best way to do this is to use a VPN application. This stands for Virtual Private Network and basically spoofs the internet traffic to somewhere else in the world. This means one can remain entirely anonymous while browsing and using the internet.

Even if someone does try to track , they’re going to be taken to a random part of the world where the user does not  exist, rather than one’s computer and internet address in the real world.

For example, if some one is browsing the internet in his Delhi home and does not wish  to be tracked back there, he should use a VPN to spoof your internet connection to somewhere completely different, such as Warsaw.This means the identity is hidden, the personal information is safe, and thus minimizes the risk of being exposed to hackers. 

Dark Is Deep Dark

Dark Market Place  has become playground for many kind of players. In response to the Dark Market  affair, hackers, crackers, and cyber criminals are burrowing deeper into the digital underground. There is also increasing ‘specialization’ in the business.  Hackers and Malware Coders are in full swing, developing tailor made designers’ programs that target specific system(s)  or seek out particular piece of information. Then they sell this to a group that actually supervises the penetration of a financial institution or its customers. Once they have that access to the money, they will contact a ‘mule herder’, a person or group who employs ‘money mules’ across the globe. You might have noticed countless ads on websites offering work to people using their computers at home for attractive salary. A number Of such ads are placed by mule herders.The herder ask the potential mules to place their bank accounts at the herder’s disposal in exchange for a percentage of the sums flowing through them. There is a need to make people aware about these mule herders.

The breaking down of criminal activities into these distinct entities makes it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify what is actually going on and who is conniving  with whom. The proliferation of smart mobile devices and apps also offering huge opportunities to criminals in the cyberspace. 

The rapid expansion of Internet users presents another major challenge to security agencies. Police in Western Europe have estimated that the size of the Chinese cyber hacking community very large. Till  2012 , the 419 or Advance Fee Fraud scam was the preserve of certain West African Criminal Groups, especially Nigerians, the proud creators of those bizarre emails urgently entreating the reverent to assist in the movement of millions of dollars of a deceased rich or a dictator. It was named 419 after the relevant para in Nigerian Panel Code. In fact a very old trick mentioned in Ben Johnson’s play Alchemist. 419 are  now being dispatched from China also in both Chinese as well as English. This complements a second Chinese hacking speciality, which is the theft of items from Massively Online Role Playing Games (MORPG) such as World of Warcraft , ArcheAge, Linage I, TERA , Second Life, Hannover Hotel. All of these games have digital currencies that can be exchanged for real money. This in turn invests value in the virtual goods and services, which players can purchase to add to the pleasure of their gaming experience. Although they are not alone, Chinese hackers have learned so well to ‘steal’ these digital items or monies, which they convert to actual real world cash. China’s vast hacking and computational skills so far are grossly underestimated. What is happening behind red wall is not fully known but one thing is sure that no one can operate there without concurrence and connivance of some powerful people in  government.

To combat the growing threats to civil societies from Dark Markets, governments as well as Corporates are now pouring big money into cyber security, whether in law enforcement, the protection of intellectual copyright or the military domain. These funds will be utilized in upgrading combat techniques and skills. The idea being that this will be sufficient to protect the Internet from bad code, malware and viruses that are making users very unsafe. 

Another grim reality is that this platform is equally used by civil warriors like Julian Assange, it is an open secret military as well as espionage agencies also covertly use this powerful platform.

As far the the big Dark Market players are concerned, security agencies are constantly after  them with the result so many players close down their shops overnight but many other cropped up overnight. Silk Road 3.0, Darknet Heroes League, Dream Market, The Wall Street Market, Point / T Chka Free Market, Empire Market,Berlusconi Market are big notorious names in the field.