Inciting One of the Worst Crimes in Egypt in Recent Years: What Is the Dark Web?

A horrifying incident shocked the Egyptian community as the Public Prosecution revealed the murder of a 15-year-old boy, whose body was found in an apartment in Cairo with some of his organs removed and placed in a nearby bag.

A statement from the prosecution on April 25, 2024, indicated that the accused, a young man, confessed to committing the murder at the request of an Egyptian teenager residing in Kuwait.

Disturbing Details

The killer was asked to choose a child to harvest their organs for 5 million Egyptian pounds.

At first glance, this might seem like a typical organ theft crime, but the details revealed many unprecedented and horrifying aspects.

One of the most shocking details is that the instigator in Kuwait is also a 15-year-old Egyptian boy who met the perpetrator through social media.

The instigator asked the killer to lure children, murder them, and mutilate their bodies by cutting and dissecting their organs, on the condition that the entire process be filmed and shown to him via video call.

Initial investigations indicated that the crime was committed to market these scenes on the Dark Web.

The Egyptian resident in Kuwait was found to be collecting similar videos to profit from publishing them on this obscure network, largely unknown to many Egyptians.

This raises the question: What is the Dark Web? How can such horrific and serial crimes be committed through this web? Can it be monitored like the regular internet?

Egypt has never previously witnessed any publicly known crime related to the Dark Web.

The Dark Web

The Dark Web is a parallel version of the regular internet, containing hidden and encrypted sites that are difficult to access and require special technologies.

Its content is not indexed by traditional search engines, and browsing it requires special software such as advanced VPN programs.

Large parts of the Dark Web are described as secret, hidden, and encrypted, where there are no regulations or oversight, allowing individuals to conceal their identity and location from others, particularly security and government entities.

Therefore, the Dark Web hosts illegal trades including weapons, drugs, counterfeit currencies, malware, and hacking instructions.

More severe crimes like child pornography, human trafficking, and organ trade also exist on the Dark Web.

The term "Dark Web" started being used in 2009 and became associated with cyber hacking activities.

However, there is another side to the Dark Web; some users work to keep their databases and information hidden from search engines by encrypting these sites and using special algorithms to prevent easy detection.

This is essential for security, military agencies, and political campaign operations to ensure confidentiality for some institutions and companies.

The deep web content is hidden behind protocols known as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

It includes databases of institutions like hospitals, universities, and museums, which require entering a username, as well as online bank accounts, and pay-to-view sites of some magazines or newspapers.

The addresses of these sites do not end with conventional internet domains like .com, .net, or .org.

Iceberg Analogy

Many programming experts compare the internet to an iceberg. The small, visible part above the water represents the visible web that includes websites, search engines, and social media platforms we commonly use. The larger, hidden part beneath the surface represents the deeper layers.

Directly beneath the surface lies the Deep Web, while the Dark Web resides in the deepest parts.

The Dark Web comprises all web pages that cannot be accessed through traditional search engines and contains approximately 90% of all websites on the internet.

It is, in fact, a subset of the deep web, accessible only via specialized browsers like "Tor," developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1990s.

"Tor" conceals the user's identity, enabling access to sites blocked by governments.

Accessing the Dark Web sites typically requires a subscription or service fee, often paid using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is the most popular and widely used currency on the Dark Web due to its reliability, profitability, and security in masking transaction origins.

Various armed groups, such as "Neo-Nazis," have long used the Dark Web for secrecy and sharing confidential information.

On October 27, 2021, the French newspaper, Le Parisien, reported an attempted coup led by far-right politician Remy Daillet, who planned to storm the presidential palace (Elysee) and used the Dark Web to mobilize his followers.

Daillet communicated with 36 military captains involved in the coup through encrypted messages to build a vast network of conspiracy theorists on the Dark Web.

On November 12, 2021, sensitive data was stolen from American and foreign entities. The FBI warned American companies about Iranian hackers infiltrating the Dark Web to find and purchase this data.

On October 26, 2021, Europol launched a crackdown on Dark Web users, arresting 150 individuals and seizing $27 million in cash, 230 kilograms of drugs, and numerous weapons.

This operation followed the German police's dismantling of the Dark Market platform, leading to a wide-ranging security operation across eight European countries and the U.S., named Dark Hunter, according to the French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP).

The operation targeted a site called Cyberbunker, used to sell drugs, counterfeit currency, stolen or forged credit cards, anonymous phone SIM cards, malware, and more.

Other Uses

The Dark Web isn't solely malevolent; it offers some benefits. Major media organizations such as the BBC, The Guardian, and The New York Times maintain Dark Web sites primarily to prevent hacking attempts.

Journalists often need to conceal their identities or hide their information and sources to evade government surveillance, legal prosecution, or general targeting.

Many journalists and activists turn to the Dark Web, believing it to be a useful tool. They use it to remain digitally anonymous and keep their activities hidden from oppressive governments, making their relationship with it increasingly significant.

The International Journalists' Network says the Dark Web enables secure communication with sources through fully encrypted and protected voice and video calls, especially for sources in heavily monitored areas.

A study published on October 30, 2018, adds that journalists can use encrypted and secure email services provided by Dark Web sites to protect their correspondence and documents, ensuring they don't fall into the hands of state authorities that suppress press freedom or are engaged in conflicts.

The Dark Web also allows journalists to access document archiving sites, providing access to hundreds of thousands of secret documents in various languages on global issues.

Using hidden Wikipedia, journalists can find information about individuals, countries, and global entities not available on the surface web.

This includes links to black market goods, currency, services, forums, and political groups.

It also enables journalists and researchers to store copies of their documents, images, and work clips on hidden sites or within their hidden email, keeping them away from prying eyes and trackers.