DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY
VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

EXPLO RATORY STUDY ON THE EMERGING DARK B

WE

LEGAL METHODOLOGY

MS.
SOMA BHATTACHARIYA, M.A.,
LL.M.

ASHUTOSH SHARMA
2019086

1st SEM
SEC-“B
”
 INTRODUCTION
The concept of the Dark Web have been in existence since the World Wide Web became
popular in the mid1990s, the growth of the Dark Web did not gain broader public attention
until the arrest of the “Dread Pirate Roberts,” also known as Ross William Ulbricht, in
October 2013.

The focus of this project is the “Dark Web”, to include how this aspect of the Internet has
affected national security over the last decade as well as how it may affect national security in
the years to come. Accordingly, this project will seek to establish a conceptual framework of
the Dark Web as a sort of landscape characterized by a series of threat issues and threat actors
that national security professionals should be aware of.

Understanding the Dark Web’s application to the future of cyberwarfare requires us to view
the problem from multiple perspectives. There is, of course, the underlying national security
perspective that should drive our foundational understanding – however, of equal importance
are both the economic and intelligence operations perspectives. From an economic
perspective, we should consider that the primary application of the Dark Web, thus far, has
been as a marketplace used by those wishing to engage in illicit trade. The ability to
understand illicit trade on the Dark Web as it applies to national security requires us to
consider concepts such as supply, demand, vendor reputation, etc. Whereas from an
intelligence operations perspective, the Dark Web can also be viewed as neutral grounds for
two parties who wish to anonymously engage in the exchange of information, weapons, and
national security secrets. Much like the Cold War era depiction of a clandestine agent
meeting his/her source at a “safe spot” or communicating with agents via dead drops, the
Dark Web in many ways can be thought of as the cyber means through which two
intelligence professionals can safely meet and exchange information in neutral grounds.

Before the advent of the Dark Web, highly effective cyber exploits were only available to
advanced nation-state governments, organized criminal groups, and close-knit research
communities. This is no longer the case, as effective cyber exploits are now being heavily
monetized and distributed across dozens of Dark Web marketplaces and forums. This raises
issues from a national security standpoint, as it allows threat actors who previously did not
possess the technical prowess to simply buy their desired capabilities.

The usefulness of the Dark Web to individuals, corporates and governments for lawful,
private and secure communications is obvious, but its very secrecy lends itself to abuse by
criminals.
At present there is no reliable way of allowing the Dark Web to be used for good whilst
barring its use for illegal purposes.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The Objectives of the research are to:

 Understand the concept of working of Dark Web.

 Understand how Dark Web helps in controlling national security.
 Understand the usefulness of the Dark Web to individuals.

RESEARCH QUESTION
The research question helped in providing adequate emphasis to the core issue of the research
and based on the issue the research study use to be conducted. Therefore, as the research
question focus on the core issue of the research study, it plays important role in this study.

 What are the positive and negative impacts of Dark Web on the society?
 How the negative impact of the dark web can be controlled?

LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is conducted for gaining the information regarding the past researchers, and
thereby the researcher can easily gain the resources for carrying out the analysis of the
research on the dark web. The explanations are provided regarding the past researcher made
by different researchers who help the researcher to gain the detailed information regarding
the research. The importance of this chapter is being explained in an appropriate way which
helps the researcher to gain the fixed goals and the target. The vital nature of this chapter is
depicted in this structure of the research. The appropriate information can be gained by the
researcher for carrying out the further research.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter is used for gathering the raw data which are used for gathering the raw data
which is being explained and thereby it also helps the researcher to gain the data for the
purpose of structuring the research. It also helps the researcher for the selection of the tools
and the equipment that are necessary for the purpose of constructing the research. It thereby
also helps the researcher to structure the research. It also helps the researcher to recognize the
crucial elements and thereby the appropriate construction with depicting the purpose of
conducting the research. It also helps in structuring the purpose of the study with depicting
the optimum usage of the tools and the techniques used for carrying out the research study.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The researcher in this project will narrow its scope by focusing solely on the national security
considerations of the Dark Web, and not those issues that delve into the realm of domestic
law enforcement. Drug trafficking, financial fraud, counterfeit goods, illegal pornography,
etc. – these are issues that this project defines as falling into the realm of law enforcement.
Weapons proliferation, terrorism, intelligence gathering & extortion, malicious services-for-
hire, etc. – these are issues that this project defines as falling into the realm of national
security. The researcher is aware that there is not necessarily a clean split between issues of
law enforcement and national security concern; again, the researcher’s intent here is to
narrow his focus onto those threats that have unique national security implications.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This project has adopted several tools and techniques, which support in the process of the
data analysis and provide adequate knowledge and understanding about the importance of the
dark web in modern society. Apart from this, it helps to recognize the impact of the dark web
in the modern society and at the end of this chapter a list of recommendation has been
formulated, which help in reducing the negative impact of the dark web technologies.