Germany Shuts Down Servers For Russian Darknet Marketplace Hydra.

Why in news?

• Germany has shut down Russia-linked ‘Hydra Market’– considered as world’s biggest and oldest DarkNet marketplace of illegal items and services.

About Dark Net

• Also known as Dark Web, it is that part of Internet which cannot be accessed through traditional search engines like Google nor is it accessible by normal browsers like Chrome or Safari.
• It generally uses non-standard communication protocols which make it inaccessible to internet service providers (ISPs) or government authorities.
• Content on Dark Net is encrypted and requires specific browser such as TOR (The Onion router) browser to access those pages.
• Dark Net itself is only a part of Deep Web that is a broader concept, which includes sites that are protected by passwords.
  • Part of Internet that is readily available to general public and searchable on standard search engines is called as Surface Web.
• It is used by Journalists and citizens working in oppressive regimes (to communicate without any government censorship), researchers and students to do research on sensitive topics, law enforcement agencies etc.
• Concerns over its use: Anonymity, Haven for illicit activity, Privacy and ethical seeking concerns, drug dealing, communication by terrorists etc.