Icebergs and the Darknet

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couple laying down on boat deck.
Sarah: Tom, did you read the latest script on Scriptingthewhy?
Tom: No, I don’t find any of them funny.
Sarah: Oh really…it’s over.
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You are on the bow of the titanic with your version of Jack and you’re feeling like you’re the queen, king, it, them, they, infinite letters and symbols of the world. For those who have seen the titanic, you know the ending, despite there being enough room on the floating door Jack chooses the “Irish exit” over dealing with possible child support cases.

Since the movie The Titanic’s release which seems like it has been forever, this isn’t much of a spoiler; people get on a boat, party hard, the captain sucks at captaining, and the boat finds that icebergs have a deeper meaning to them.

The symbolism in all of this, what is it? Well, after figuring out what gender you land your spinning wheel on, the breakdown is as follows; clearly, your character is Rose, Jack is your virtual private network the titanic is your computer, and finally, the iceberg is the internet.

Why is it that the iceberg is considered to be the symbol of the internet and not the ocean? It may be attributed to depth and not width, but I didn’t coin the idea so don’t ask me.

photo of an iceberg
The captain of the titanic saw this and kept sailing forward.
Photo by Jean-Christophe Andre, please support by following @pexel.com

Web in Layers

I’m just going to make the assumption that everyone in the world has some point or another in their life spent some time on the internet. Rather it is shopping online, checking emails, looking for that special someone, or…filtering through their list of pronouns.

We have all spent time on this portion of the internet which is called the “surface web” due to it being readily available to the public. Making this portion of the internet or the iceberg to be considered “just the tip”. What are the other portions I can hear you ask? They are deep and dark web.

What’s the difference between the two? The deep web is the middle of the iceberg that includes everything that search engines cannot identify because they are protected with a password or stored behind internet services, so for example, you may have been spending a good portion of your time perusing on the deep web if you have an Amazon or Netflix account.

And for our main event at the bottom of the iceberg which is every emo kid’s wet dream, the dark web, is the hidden collective of internet sites only accessible via a specialized web browser (Tor) used to keep internet activity anonymous and private.

A brief history of the dark web according to the International Monetary Fund, the dark web or also known as “darknet” was created back in the late 90s by two organizations in the US Department of Defense to create an environment of anonymized and encrypted networks that would protect the sensitive communications of US spies.

people at a nightclub
Bob: Did anyone bring the E?
Eric: I got you bro, there’s some ecstasy in my bag.
Bob: I was talking about the Ethernet cord.
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Darknet Clubbing

Aside from protecting America’s greatest spies and turning into a nightclub for hackers, what can be done on the dark web you may be asking? Well, pretty much anything you can think of.

The list is as follows but is not limited to; conducting black markets for stolen identity, selling of weapons, prostitution, sex trafficking, and the last thing you thought the internet would be used for since we still have corners on the block, the slinging of dope.

Do you want to perform a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service)? Purchasing botnets on the dark web will help you perform this form of cyber-attack. You can also download files from the dark web however, they are more likely to come with a nasty array of surprises in the form of a virus, malware, spyware, ransomware, trojans, and many other devious files that could harm either your computer, bank account or just your life in general.

Now while being on the dark web sounds like a normal day in Camden New Jersey, just know, being present there is legal however, the activity you take part in begs the question if you’re joining the dark side or not.

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young man surfing.
Sailing would be so much easier if I had a boat.
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Freedom not Allowed

So, having access to the dark web, why is this part of the iceberg so important? Well, as mentioned before, joining the dark side because they have candy, will grant you anonymity making you and your activities harder to trace.

This helps you avoid government censorship if you live in a country where freedom is a no-no and provides you with some privacy. An example of this would be if you wanted to watch a movie or show that you don’t have access to within your country, you could simply “sail the seas to find your booty”.

Translation: you would have a VPN to change your location to the region where you would have access to said viewing. Finding out all this information may have you terrified and asking if your information is being sold on the dark web and Buddha only knows what people are looking to do with it. If that is the case, then you can venture to the “Have I been Pwned”(HIBP)website to see if your information is doing the cupid shuffle.

young man in a hoodie grayscale
Not every hacker wears a hoodie…it’s only the serious ones.
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Hacking Above to Depth Below

Now, if all this being on the dark web has you in Mr. Robot mode and you want to catch the bad guys or even play one part-time, there are careers in cyber security that can land you in the dark web.

Getting a degree helps but is not required since you have to display the ability to handle given situations versus sitting in a lecture hall letting valuable hacking time pass you by. Obtaining Security+ and acquiring certificates via online courses or boot camps will get you to depth faster.

Other certifications later acquired like the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) could see you higher up career-wise and in-depth iceberg-wise.

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Do you feel like I may have missed something about the dark-web? Script a comment below.