Lurking Beneath The Internet

The Darknet/Invisible Web is the hidden underbelly, home to both rogues, political activists, and those who want to be anonymous. It is accessed only with the help of specially designed anonymizing software.

It’s a secretive place, where people can talk about anything and everything, a place where being anonymous thrives, a place where people believe that is for the freedom of speech. It is also a dangerous place, where a lot of illicit, underground, black market transactions occur.

They lurk in the blind spots of search engines. It's a lawless zone,

it’s not a place most people visit nor should they. It sounds like a murky, inaccessible underworld but the reality is that it's right there, a click away, at the end of your mouse.

To access the Dark Net you need to have access to the regular internet and connect to the Tor network. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels which allows people to improve their privacy and security on the Internet.

The Implications and effects on E-Commerce

The Darknet strives on privacy and being anonymous. Part of the promise of recent digital and social innovations has been the new ability of businesses to learn tons of valuable and insightful information about their current and potential customers. The loss or compromise of that data could undermine recent marketing progress.

Businesses will have to confront a potentially darker Internet, with a block to data-driven marketing with an increase in being anonymous. There will be real consequences, including in investments in marketing, if it becomes more difficult to quantify customer engagement. Imagine if e-commerce site where all the profiles are anonymous, all payments utilize cryptic currencies, and all deliveries of physical goods use inexpensive, multi-hop services that conceal the end delivery address.

The Trend in the next 2 years

There is mounting pressure from elected officials to do something about the Darknet. The problem facing anyone trying to block illegal dealings is that it doesn't happen on the public internet. Online criminals know what they're doing is illegal, and they'll take complex precautions to hide their locations and the services. This gives the government a hard time to stop these illegal actions.

The future is uncertain. The tool used by oppressed people across the globe is also the tool used for illegal and heinous actions, so will this still thrive for the good of freedom of speech and privacy?