Open, Deep, and Dark: Differentiating the Parts of the Internet Used for Cybercrime

Jan 2020

Research Brief

School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University

The structure of the Internet allows individuals to engage in crime via the Open, Dark, and Deep Web. Open Web content can be accessed by anyone with a standard browser. The Deep Web requires either certain permissions, like passwords, or knowledge that the information exists, like that the website cannot be found via search engines. One needs special tools to access the Dark Web, where the users’ activities are anonymized, making it more difficult to track their activities.

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