KUWAIT: The horrific stories about the dark web are not new to us — we’ve all watched them multiple times in thriller movies and TV shows. But, this time, it’s not a fictional story that we are talking about — it’s reality, and it’s closer to the Arab world than we ever imagined. The brutal murder of a 15-year-old Egyptian boy, allegedly ordered by a teenager residing in Kuwait to film the incident and sell the video through the dark web, won’t be the last if society doesn’t develop awareness about the dangers of visiting this nefarious universe.
Certified in ethical hacking, Saleh Al-Saleh, a cybersecurity consultant, explained the dark web is a hidden part of the Internet that cannot be indexed by usual search engines such as Google, Chrome or Safari. Individuals can only access it through specialized software that can keep their identities and locations anonymous, making it a "safe” place for practicing illegal actions without the fear of being traced or caught.
Arms trafficking, drug dealing, unauthorized cryptocurrency mining, sharing of exploitative content — often involving children — such as pornography and images of violence and other types of abuse, are all types of what Saleh called "malevolent activities” practiced within the dark web. Despite the different means of crimes, he noted that they all share a common objective: Financial gain.
It’s the same motive that probably drove the young boy to order the murder. "The dark web is for people who admire watching horror movies taking place in real life,” Saleh remarked, explaining that these sick individuals pay any amount of money to watch such videos, which help the video creator generate more profit.
Saleh asserted that anyone browsing the dark web is prone to joining a large network of crimes taking place on this platform. By easily having access to any electronic device worldwide, proficient unethical hackers on the dark web usually lure visitors into becoming involved in brutal crimes under the threat of sharing sensitive information about their personal or professional lives.
So, whether you get into it out of curiosity, interest in cryptocurrencies, adult content or drugs, if you neglect taking necessary security precautions, those hackers might hunt you down, using you as a puppet to achieve their criminal ends, warned Saleh. "Once you step into the dark web, you probably won’t exit it unless you are dead or arrested.”
To safeguard oneself against information breaches, Saleh advised every Internet or smart device user to always be equipped with necessary security precautions, because the threats of dark web hackers can go far beyond its boundaries. He advised implementing practices such as using strong passwords, checking websites’ safety and security before accessing them and keeping antivirus software up to date. Not to mention the importance of tracking your children’s behaviors and making sure they don’t pursue any unusual interests.
However, Saleh noted that no matter what, achieving complete security is impossible in the world of the Internet. Taking all the security precautions is meaningless without awareness. He firmly believes in the concept that a "human firewall is better than a million technical firewalls”, which is why he advocates for reforming educational curricula to teach cybersecurity, and for individuals to take responsibility for self-education on the subject.