# What is the Dark Web?

> The dark web is the intentionally obscured part of the internet whose services require specialized software, configuration, or authorization to reach.

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## Content

It commonly includes services on anonymity-oriented overlay networks such as Tor. The term describes an access and network model, not a single website, and dark-web use is not automatically anonymous, unlawful, or malicious.

Dark-web services can support privacy, censorship resistance, journalism, whistleblowing, and secure communication. They also host criminal markets, stolen-data exchanges, fraud services, and malware communities. Defenders may encounter dark-web information during threat intelligence or incident response, but claims from an underground forum still require provenance, corroboration, authorization, and lawful handling.

### Key points

- **Access boundary:** Onion services use addresses and routing within Tor; other darknets use different protocols or membership controls.
- **Defensive relevance:** Credible exposure reports can prompt credential resets, fraud monitoring, victim notification, or incident scoping, but actions should follow approved legal, privacy, and evidence-handling processes.
- **Assessment:** Record where and when material was observed, what asset or identity it concerns, and whether internal evidence supports the claim without purchasing illicit data or engaging unknown actors.
- **Important limitation:** Finding information on the dark web does not prove when, how, or from whom it was obtained, and failing to find it does not prove that no exposure occurred. Overlay networks reduce some visibility but do not guarantee anonymity.

### Related terms

[Cyber threat intelligence (CTI)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/cyber-threat-intelligence/>) · [Internet fraud](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/internet-fraud/>) · [Identity theft](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/identity-theft/>) · [Ransomware as a service (RaaS)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/ransomware-as-a-service/>) · [Malware](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/malware/>) · [Open-source intelligence (OSINT)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/open-source-intelligence/>)

### Sources

[U.S. Department of Justice OIG: Audit of the FBI’s Strategy and Efforts to Disrupt Illegal Dark Web Activities](https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/21-014.pdf) · [Tor Project: Understanding and Using Onion Services](https://support.torproject.org/tor-browser/features/onion-services/)

## Attribution and scope

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