What is the deep web?

The Deep Web It is the set of resources found on the Internet and which cannot be accessed through search engines. Many entrepreneurs are convinced that the greatest achievement that can be had in the network is to position their own products in the engines in such a way that it is easy for potential customers to find them, according to the well-known refrain “make yourself meet". However, not all the Web works according to this philosophy, quite the contrary. In reality, it is calculated that the visible data traffic on the Internet represents a minimum percentage of the total: the Experts say that the pages indexed by Google and other engines represent less than 5% of the total pages of network. Actually the world of business and users with whom we can connect using engines and other means of online search could be compared to the emerging summit of a huge iceberg whose volume develops largely below the level from sea. Everything that is hidden on the Internet, takes the generic name of Deep Web, or deep Web.

But what exactly is hidden in the Deep web and what are the access channels? Experts have divided this huge hidden sector of the Internet into different levels, according to the difficulty of access and the resources guarded in each one of them. The Deep Web is the place of choice for all prohibited traffic and black market: trade in organs and weapons or pedopornographic material are some of the products. It is also the realm of hackers who go in search of personal information to violate the security of our computers. According to a 2012 investigation by Carniege Mellon University, the single market for drugs on the Deep Web is around $ 22 million.

The most superficial level of the Deep Web can be accessed through some software that is relatively simple to find, such as those provided by the Tor system (The Onion Reuter) https://www.torproject.org, managed by a non-commercial association, which also offers some resources to maintain user anonymity. Tor users in 2013 are estimated to have exceeded 4 million. However, the deeper levels have restricted access and obtaining the software that provides the possibility of access is a task that few can achieve.

The development of Deep web has been facilitated by the spread of virtual currencies such as the Bitcoin, which allow economic transactions to be carried out without leaving a trace and without the different national authorities being able to trace sellers and buyers of illegal goods.

However, the Deep web it is not made simply by illegal traffics. In the hidden Internet there are also the private networks of organizations, governments, large companies, which constitute a particularly attractive target for hackers. In addition, a part of the hidden traffic is not related to merchandise but to information. According to research developed by Bit4Id http://www.bit4id.com/es/ called Artemis that examined 25 thousand pages of the Deep Web, the information contained in forums, blogs and hidden portals focuses for 28% in hacking, for 23% in cyber crime, for 17% in terrorism and political propaganda and 4% in pornography and pedophilia.