Darknet an where it is taking the law

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Darknet an where it is taking the law"

Benedict Collins
5 years ago
Views:

1 0 Darknet an where it is taking the law Stefan C. Schicker, LL.M January 2016 SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte Wirtschaftsprüfer Partnerschaft mbb

2 1 Content 01 Darknets 02 Development of the Darknets 03 Who Uses the Darknets? 04 Mode of Operation of a Darknet 05 Tor (acronym: The Onion Router) 06 How Does it Work? 07 What is the Security Threat? 08 Crime and the Darknets 09 Conclusion

3 2 Darknets Private networks using non-standard protocols and ports Decentralised peer-to-peer technology Connections established only between trusted individuals Communications very difficult to trace Used widely across the globe by many different groups of people Most popularly used for file sharing No overarching darknet underground which is connected but instead it is mainly broken down by language groups

4 3 Development of the Darknets Began as the US Department of Defense s network which was first developed in 1968 for security grounds The word dark was used in regard to the term black box which tends to mean an object where there is no knowledge of its internal workings Prior to the 1990s, when friends and acquaintances of course shared files e.g. music on cassette tapes. Handing floppy disks between groups of friends etc. Then came the likes of Napster but important components were still centralised and subject to legal threats

5 4 Who Uses the Darknets? Military users Peer-to-peer file sharers and copyright infringers Residents of heavily censored countries e.g. China and the Middle East Cyber criminals who exchange information and data e.g. stolen credit card details Ordinary people who do not want to be monitored

6 5 Mode of Operation of a Darknet Darknets may use their own client software and encryption algorithms They may also hack into other people s servers and make use of the spare capacity for storing files The use of SSH tunnels keep the traffic encrypted and make it difficult to monitor IP addresses, passwords and encryption keys are passed on hand to hand, through SMS, instant messaging or throw-away accounts. Common tools such as PGP (Pretty Good Privacy: a data encryption/decryption computer programme) or tailor-made encryption systems are used

6 Tor (acronym: The Onion Router) Began as a military project for security reasons Now it mostly functions as an illicit civilian network A user s location is concealed from bodies conduction traffic

7 6 Tor (acronym: The Onion Router) Began as a military project for security reasons Now it mostly functions as an illicit civilian network A user s location is concealed from bodies conduction traffic analysis or network surveillance Its original intention was to protect privacy and to enable the freedom of speech online The NSA has said that it is the King of high-secure, low latency Internet anonymity with no contenders for the throne in waiting rknet-tor-anonymous-silkroad1.jpg%3fw%3d640%26h%3d392%26crop%3d1

8 7 How does it work? It is a free software browser just like Chrome or Safari It directs traffic through a free, global, volunteer network which is a virtual circuit consisting of more than six thousand relays It enacts multiple encryptions on the original data, including the destination IP address The relays are in-network nodes, which are proxy computers chosen at random and maintained by volunteers worldwide

9 8 What is the Security Threat? Darknets should almost never affect your own system However, servers can become compromised by either being hacked directly or as part of a botnet Some protection can be found through tightly configured firewalls, although not complete protection Legal action is the biggest challenge that the darknets face, although the darknet as a whole has never been under significant threat

9 Crime and the Darknets Classic police investigation work includes: Participating in global forums Building up trust on the darknets Finding examples of malicious code and following it back to the

10 9 Crime and the Darknets Classic police investigation work includes: Participating in global forums Building up trust on the darknets Finding examples of malicious code and following it back to the command and control servers Searching for indications that encrypting systems may be used, like codenames of outdated browsers An example of a successful operation was in 2013 where the best known Tor Black Market Silk Road for narcotics and weapons was seized by U.S. authorities

11 10 Conclusion Easy to demonise the darknets however it is not all about crime or copyright infringement Even the FBI has stated that this type of anonymous communication has legitimate uses in their report on the Black Silk seizure It is argued that Tor and other similar softwares are essential for practicing free-speech in the digital world. Tor itself argues that criminals will be criminals regardless of their anonymity online if Tor was taken away they would simply find other ways to break the law.

12 11 Stefan C. Schicker, LL.M Rechtsanwalt Solicitor (England & Wales) Fachanwalt für Informationstechnologierecht Fachanwalt für Gewerblichen Rechtsschutz Tel SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte Wittelsbacherplatz München

Journey into The Darknet

SESSION ID: CCT-R06 Journey into The Darknet Greg Jones Director Digital Assurance @da_security Some scenarios Darknet concept in one slide Consider a web-site. From the address we can derive: The domain