The Dark Web: What Is It, How to Access It, and Why We Need to Study It

• Author: Fawn T. Ngo,Catherine Marcum,Scott Belshaw
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862231159774
• Published date: 01 May 2023
• Date: 01 May 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862231159774

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2023, Vol. 39(2) 160 –166

© The Author(s) 2023

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/10439862231159774

journals.sagepub.com/home/ccj

Article

The Dark Web: What Is It,

How to Access It, and Why

We Need to Study It

Fawn T. Ngo1, Catherine Marcum2,

and Scott Belshaw3

Abstract

The dark web is a subsection of the deep web that conventional search engines cannot

index. As an encrypted network of websites, the dark web can only be accessed using

special browsers such as Tor. Tor, formerly an acronym for “The Onion Router,” is

a free and open-source software intended to protect the personal privacy of its users

and keep their internet activities unmonitored. While the dark web is known for both

legitimate and illegitimate purposes, it remains notorious for facilitating illegal and

deviant activities ranging from drug dealing to child pornography, human trafficking,

arms dealing, and extremist recruitment. Accordingly, researching and understanding

the dark web is a critical and essential step in fighting and preventing cybercrime.

However, studying the dark web poses unique challenges. This special issue seeks to

provide a platform for researchers and criminologists to share and discuss research

designs and methods that help shed light on the actual activity going on in the dark

web’s shadowy realms.

Keywords

the dark web, the onion router, cybercrime

Introduction

The internet, also known as the “information superhighway,” was created by groups of

pioneering scientists, programmers, and engineers. Broadly speaking, the internet

1University of South Florida, Sarasota, USA

2Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA

3University of North Texas, Denton, USA

Corresponding Author:

Fawn T. Ngo, Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota,

FL 34243, USA.

Email: fawnngo@usf.edu

1159774CCJXXX10.1177/10439862231159774Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeNgo et al.

research-article2023