A look inside the dark web: Crime, anonymity and underground markets

The dark web is a hidden part of the internet that cannot be accessed through traditional search engines and remains largely invisible to most users.

Rotem Feldner, and Shani Guidalia, Ori Segal, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity company Cyvore, offers a rare glimpse into the dark web and its underground marketplaces.

To explain this digital landscape, Segal divides the internet into three layers. The first is the open web, made up of publicly accessible websites.

The second is the “deep web,” which includes content protected by authentication, such as online bank accounts. The third is the dark web, which can be accessed only with specialized software, including a Tor browser.

Unlike websites on the conventional web, the platforms featured in the report cannot be found through Google. Their addresses, often ending in “.onion,” are shared directly among users, particularly through encrypted messaging services. Tor routes internet traffic through multiple relays, making it significantly more difficult to identify or locate its users.

The technology was not originally created for criminal purposes. The principles behind Tor emerged from research conducted by the US Naval Research Laboratory to protect online communications. Today, the anonymity it provides is used for both legitimate activities and criminal operations.

Segal displays several underground marketplaces that claim to sell stolen data, payment-card details, forged identity documents, and personal information. Some platforms even advertise services intended to target or harm specific individuals.

Much like legitimate e-commerce platforms, certain dark-web marketplaces allow customers to rate sellers. “There is no guarantee that you will actually receive what you buy, because you are dealing with scammers,” Segal explains. Ratings therefore help establish a form of trust and reputation within these criminal networks.

According to Segal, some of this material is obtained by hacking phones or personal accounts. The problem extends far beyond public figures: revenge pornography, stolen private data, and the sale of such material are also part of this underground economy.

Anonymity on the dark web is not absolute. Law-enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts continue to develop methods for identifying and tracking the operators and users of criminal platforms.

Segal strongly advises ordinary internet users not to explore the dark web out of curiosity. “I do not recommend that anyone download Tor and try to access the dark web,” he warns, stressing that careless browsing can expose users to serious risks.

Behind the image of a completely invisible and uncontrollable internet lies a more complicated reality: a network designed to protect anonymity, but one whose hidden corners have also become havens for trafficking, fraud, and criminal content.