Dark web, VPN make probe tough for cops
The use of encrypted networks by the sender, including Virtual Private Network (VPN) as well as Dark web, is making it difficult for the Delhi Police to probe the source of emails sent to 48 educational institutions in the national capital on Friday.
A VPN is a service that creates a secure, encrypted connection over the Internet, masking the IP address and location of the user, protecting online activities from prying eyes.
Dark web is a part that isn’t indexed by standard search engines and requires specific software like Tor to access, offering a high degree of anonymity. It can be used for legitimate purposes like secure communication and also a known part of the Internet for illegal activities.
As per a police official investigating such threats, the dark web is like a layer on onion, once you peel one layer, another appears just behind it. Similarly on the dark web, once you decode one layer and notice a pattern, suddenly another layer appears with another pattern and this sometimes leads to nowhere and one remains lost.
“It’s more like a labyrinth (bhool bhulaiya), a complex network of paths and passages that are difficult to navigate, if you miss one turn, you are lost. Similarly things happen in tracing someone on the dark web or VPN,” the cop mentioned.
Moreover, cyber experts also believe that tracing the masked identities is a time-consuming process and there is no guarantee of results.
“The use of VPNs and the dark web to issue bomb threats makes attribution extremely difficult as these tools anonymise identities and route traffic through multiple global nodes,” says Jaspreet Bindra, a cyber expert and co-founder, AI and Beyond.
Stating a solution, Bindra claimed that with the help of advanced AI-powered cyber forensics, metadata analysis and global cooperation among law enforcement agencies can help trace patterns and narrow down suspects.
Moreover, he demanded that it is crucial to regulate VPN and encrypted services without undermining their legitimate use.
Meanwhile, Dr Rydhm Beri, Assistant Professor-Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Alliance University, termed the process as ‘decoding chaos in a web of deception’ as VPNs obscure IP traces across countries, with the breeding ground of the dark web.
“Tools like VPNs and dark web were once symbols of privacy and free speech, which are now increasingly being exploited as tools of terror as the recent spate of bomb threats targeting Delhi schools highlights how these technologies are misused to mask identities and evade law enforcement,” Dr Beri added.
Stating on how such threats are sent through dark web, Shashi Bhushan, Chairman of the Board, Stellar Innovations, a futuristic technology company, says while sending threats through these channels, offenders often use encrypted platforms or anonymous forums, making it nearly impossible to trace.
By monitoring dark web forums, marketplaces and other hidden sources, organisations can gain valuable insights into stolen data, attack tools and hacker discussions, allowing them to proactively defend against cyber threats.
Moreover, implementing a dark web monitoring programme allows organisations to integrate dark web intelligence into their cyber risk management process, enabling them to improve their security posture by taking advantage of relevant, timely and actionable insights.
Delhi