Should the dark net be taken out?
Cath Everett · Network Security · 2015
Although the dark net is not necessarily something that many people outside the tight world of information security are hugely familiar with, its profile has been rising steadily over recent months. For example, it hit headlines around the world towards the end of last year, following the high-profile Operation Onymous, which was conducted by a mixture of US and EU international law enforcement agencies. 1 Cybercrime in general appears to be on the rise, but despite the apparent success of the Operation Onymous sting at the end of 2014, law enforcement agencies still face problems when going after hidden websites on the dark net. There are no international cyber-security laws, even though cybercrime tends to be global in nature. And the dark net is employed for both good and bad by criminals, journalists and political dissidents alike. So the big question in both ethical and privacy terms is would it really make sense to try and shut it down? Cath Everett finds out.