There’s one thing I haven’t told you in my series about the Darknet yet: It’s my very own opinion of it.
It’s a boon and bane. The Darknet lends us the gift of alleged anonymity; however it is also exploited by criminals, hackers, perverts and well – the authorities. For your own safety, I would suggest you never leave even a single bit of your personal information on the Darknet, especially when you’re thinking about ordering illegal goods there. And believe me, there are ways of getting something shipped to you without having to name your address or your name.
It’s the same with all the crimes and all the people who think they’re safe:
You can receive a thousand deliveries without any problems, chances are that you have earned a million dollars with illegal activities on the Darknet, but never forget this: It only takes one single time to get caught – sooner or later, this becomes inevitable. I guess the old Silk Road’s admin is the best example of the risks which hide in the Deep Web – he was a millionaire, he made it. You’re well off with that much money, right? He earned more than 36.000 Bitcoins in just a few months.
Of course I don’t know why he continued to administrate the Silk Road as a millionaire. However, there’s a thing I know: It took the NSA just a single time to inject a Trojan into the TOR Client. The admin’s PC was spied on just once and it took only one police operation to get him jailed. All this led to a running court proceeding, the confiscation of all his Bitcoins worth more than 3 million US Dollars, Silk Road’s closing and most likely a ruined life.
No one is going to punish you for surfing the Darknet. You’re not breaking any laws when reading forums or browsing the Silk Road – but in case the authorities are spying on you, this is in no way a positive influence on your digital footprint.
You should definitely tune in next weekend to read my opinion on the portrayal and depiction of the Deep Web in the media!
Part 4: The Darknet Myth | Drugs, IDs and Guns – The Silk Road
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