[2015-07-13] Hindu: Surfing the dark net for drugs

[polynesia]

Surfing the dark net for drugs

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/surfing-the-dark-net-for-drugs/article7414381.ece

Usage of TOR Browser – originally developed to subvert government surveillance – as well as the proliferation of bitcoin – a virtual currency – allows for easier, anonymous access to contraband.

 Players in the dark net
TOR (The Onion Router) browser delivers untraceable access to the Internet by linking all the computers onto a network. By routing connections through a chain of users, the IP address of the user is kept hidden. India is estimated to have between 500,000 to 1 million daily users of this browser (Oxford Internet Institute)

Bitcoin
This cryptocurrency has no centralised authority. Encryption makes online transactions between two parties anonymous. Creation and sale of bitcoins has become a big market. One bitcoin is worth around $265 (around Rs. 16,000).

It seems to be impossible to talk about the dark net without talking about Bitcoin...