What Google misses

Out of reach of traditional search engines, Navigation systems protect communications encrypted, but also harbors a crime world

The computer Edward Snowden, the U.S. National Security Agency, Syrian rebels and a group of drug traffickers share office. It is in the internals of Internet, in the so-called deep web (web profunda). An underworld, despite the mystical name, consisting of all the information that conventional search engines like Google or Yahoo can not track.

In many cases it is simply not indexed pages content: intranets, databases such as the Library of Congress Websites in the process of scrapping. The vast majority of Internet content between 80% and 95% according to most estimates, although it is very difficult to give an actual percentage-, in are accessible through search engines. But deep webalso includes an increasing volume of encrypted content for political reasons, military, activism of privacy or purely criminal. Egypt's revolution, Wikileaks or more sophisticated cybercrime have moved recently into a wrought environment in this realm of the anonymous.

To navigate through the depths of the Red, if a user knows the exact address of the page you are looking for, I could access it on the computer typing the URL. But it would not be safe browsing. Each search can be easily monitored or used to trade with the user data.

Privacy is one of the keys of the revolution 'hacktivists’

The response has been to create encrypted networks that ensure anonymous surfing, as the famousGate, used today for about 2,5 million people worldwide. But the system has also become an undeniable haven for illegal trade in products and cybercrime. Anyone can act, or crime, without a trace.

The proper name for the Tor network (The Onion Router) operation refers to: a layer system (like an onion, onion in English) which removes traces Search. The computer connects to random IP addresses of users who have joined Tor worldwide (everyone can choose to be or not part of that network where users hide each other) and it changes randomly, making it virtually impossible to find the origin of those searches.

The system is simple. Just needed a computer and free software, which can be downloaded from any browser. For a couple of hours, a house in Barcelona's Raval, computer networking expert shows COUNTRY shops where one can get any product imaginable illegal. The Portal deep web Now sold a gram of pure cocaine by 70 euros, 10 grams speed by 47 In Pandora euros ..., other markets this underground world, M4 assault of a submachine gun worth 4.700 euros; Spanish DNI and passports of all nationalities can get for just over 40 euros. Diving slightly, some people even offered to kill a third and, according to sources of the Mossos d'Esquadra, is easy to buy images of torture, rape and murder.

October 2013, el FBI cerró Silk Road, until then the largest black cybermart that existed in the deep web. Sor owner, a boy of 29 nicknamed years Dread Pirate Roberts, who found him nearly three million in bitcoins, was charged with narcotics trafficking, money laundering, conspiracy and piracy. They became hundred thousand transactions (estimated worth 20 million, about 15 million) and, as announced, were sold hundreds of kilos of drugs. "Silk Road has become the most sophisticated and extensive criminal market internet today", was announced. It lasted a few hours. The day after the intervention, ya occupied that throne nuevos markets like the Pandora Now.

The Tor network is used for more than two and a half million people

All purchases are paid bitcoins in-one volatile criptodivisa established in 2009 by the mysterious pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto just listed today 480 euros- And transactions are usually carried out by intermediaries (calledescrow o fidecomisos): services withhold payment until you receive the goods at home through the mail. The reliability of both parties is scored after each transaction, imitating legal platforms like eBay. "Great value, as usual. Highly recommended ", reads one of the customer reviews of a seller of cocaine. Nonetheless, most of the offers are scams, says the chief of computer crime Mossos d'Esquadra while a member of the unit shows HOME, on the premises of the body in Sabadell, some pages of pedophilia.

Tor was created in 2003 as an evolution of The Onion Routing project, being undertaken by the Naval Research Laboratory of the U.S.. How Internet, its origin was military, but today is responsible for management and maintenance Tor Project, a non-profit based in Massachusetts organization composed mostly of volunteers. Its director is Roger Lingledine computer, one of the original creators and guru of this movement. The level of privacy achieved by the network is almost perfect. Javier Barrios, cybercrime department of computer security company S21SEC corroborates. "Tor is currently a very strong system of privacy, extremely complex to the end user IP. While organizations such as the NSA, [the U.S. National Security Agency] have had some successful attacks against the network, remains a very strong system ".

Precisely, Edward Snowden, computer that uncovered massive spying for the NSA, said a few weeks ago in a video that is your favorite Tor network to ensure anonymity, and the agency itself for working (that has tried to attack several times this red, as self Snowden) Tor considered "king" in security matters.

For the police it is very difficult to trace the transactions made in deep web and, In most cases, since this drug retail, not even worth a complicated judicial intervention and technologically. "The offender searches that you can not link to a communication or management; almost absolute anonymity. And Tor networks hinder traceability someone ", Logic says the head of the National Security Police units in central Madrid.

The difficulty is shared with other security forces, that the lack of tools to add the problems created by different international legislation. "We can not logically draw in legal proceedings which would be the connection between an author and content", says the chief of computer crime Mossos d'Esquadra, police much more focused on the child pornography offenses are also committed to using the underworld deep web. "Generate difficulties. It is a place where work is, but does not allow to apply procedural level authorship of facts ". In 2010, the Catalan police broke up a pedophile ring operating in depth ironically named Protect us.

Beyond the criminal world that hides, the deep web and networks such as Tor are the triumph of the movement called hacktivista, who has spent years fighting for privacy on the Net. It has been an indispensable tool in the fight of the population in countries such as Syria conflict or places with Internet censorship and espionage as China, Iran even Turkey. Also new initiatives in Spain for information on corruption. They argue that in a world where data is the new oil and, if we do not leave traces are not profitable or manipulated. That is part of the Internet revolution walking and finding some variables in cases such as the massive NSA spying. The British newspaper reporter The Guardian who handled the case, Glenn Greenwald, recommended in this newspaper last week start using encrypted email for professionals who work with secrets and must protect sources. Mercè Molist, Spanish journalist expert in computer security, corroborates, and believes that if these networks are simplified and improve your speed, could begin to be used more widely.

They are in it. Tor launched its own e-mail system and, until the FBI shut it down a year ago as part of an operation against child abuse, It was quite popular. The same thing happened to Lavabit (which he used Edward Snowden) after spy scandal. Today,Protonmail, with a hosted server in Switzerland, is the new alternative email encryption. Whatsoever, there is no safety net to 100%, qualifies as Javier Barrios: "This makes it harder for you to find, but the NSA has implemented various systems to spy Tor. They can not break the net, but have tricks to hunt the most neglected. It's a game of cat and mouse. But today the anonymous browsing is essential in countries where free navigation is prohibited. The social control of government is no longer a paranoid conspiracy or history "

The dark side of the 'deep web’