This is what makes up 95% of the Internet! (2024)

With Internet technology moving from 4G to 5G, our lives have changed tremendously. Numerous opportunities have opened up to learn, play and experience the world with more speed and ease.

The Internet has something for everyone, be it a small child, an adult, an entrepreneur, or even a criminal. Around 800 million people in India use the Internet today. As per a report by Forbes, global online content consumption has doubled during the pandemic. This includes accessing Social media, Online shopping, News Websites, Streaming services, TV and Online games.

The Internet can be classified into three categories – Surface Web, Deep Web and Dark Web. The Surface Web which we all access using the Google Browser is full of information, entertainment, videos, images that are easily accessible with the click of a button. All social media information is available on the Surface Web. The other not so easily accessible information lies in the Deep and Dark Web. This information unlike the one available on the Surface Web is not indexed and is hence not available using common Search engines. As per rough estimates, the Deep Web makes up 95% of the Internet. The information in the Deep Web is not indexed and consists mainly of passwords, corporate data, email and social media related data. Within this Deep Web lies the Dark Web which has hidden sites and can be accessed by Darknets, such as TOR (The Onion Ring), which keeps the identity of the person visiting these sites hidden.

You will be surprised to know that the Surface Web consists of only 5 percent of the information available on the internet. This is under constant surveillance by Law Enforcement Agencies across the World. Even many websites can track what you are accessing on the Surface Web and that is why you get advertisem*nts of the products of your interest. Your browsing data is sold to advertisers around the world by Social Media and Online shopping companies.

Like most of the modern technologies, The Dark Web concept too has evolved from Military Researchers who intended its use for intelligence agencies and spies to communicate with each other. It became popular amongst nations where there was less freedom of speech and citizens could raise their voices without getting tracked.

As per Statista, the German Marketing and Database Company, India has the maximum share of internet users on the Dark Web making around 26% of the World users.

The Dark Web is really Dark, it is increasingly being utilized by criminals, drug peddlers, extortionists and cyber fraudsters. Such users visit Dark Web for anonymity and they cannot be traced. All passwords, sensitive personal information like bank details are available on the Dark Web. Fake driving licences, counterfeit currency, illegal weapons, contract killers, cloned credit cards, drugs and even human organs can all be found on the Dark Web. And mostly scams emerge out of these as people in need of such services enter the Dark Web and become victims of some scam. Since payments made through normal gateways like Credit cards, UPIs can be traced, fraudsters use Cryptocurrency to purchase illegal goods from the anonymous market on the Dark Web. Times of India in June 2021 reported the use of Bitcoins to make payment through DarkNet for purchase of LSD from The Netherlands to Mumbai.

The deeper one goes into the Web, the more horrifying it becomes. So stay on the surface and keep safe. Do not venture into the Deep Web, it is quite Dark there!

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