A brief history of the dark web
Unveiling the shadows of cyberspace
The internet transformed the way we communicate, acquire information, and conduct business. However, beneath the public web’s surface sits a hidden area known as the dark web, a strange and frequently misunderstood sector of cyberspace.
This article aims to explore the history of the dark web, tracing its origins, development, and the implications it carries for society.
Early origins
The dark web is a section of the World Wide Web that is not search engine indexed and requires special software, setups, or authorization to access. It’s frequently used for anonymous communication, illegal trading, hacking, terrorism, and other nefarious acts. The dark web is not the same as the deep web, which features primarily benign sites that cannot be found using search engines, such as password-protected email accounts, Netflix accounts, and online forms.
The dark web’s origins can be traced back to the 1960s, when the US government created ARPANET, a forerunner to the Internet that allowed researchers and military personnel to connect securely. In the 1970s and 1980s, some hackers and activists began to share information and challenge authority by using ARPANET and other networks. They also developed bulletin board systems (BBS)…
