T. William & Patricia Ayers:
Global Tipping Points -
International Criminality
Uncovering the Dark Web
The expression “dark web” is used frequently in the context of cybersecurity threats and illegal operations such as phishing scams. But what do we really know about how it functions and who is at the controls?
Did you know dark web operations require special software like the Tor browser and “onion routing” – website URLs that end in ‘.onion’ instead of ‘.com’ – to bounce internet traffic through encrypted computers all over the world and hide the operators' real locations and IP addresses?
Did you know that the "Dark Web" is actually a sub-network within the “Deep Web” (where private data like online banking and email operates) the lies beneath the "Surface Web" realm indexed by Google?
And did you know that criminals operating on the dark web actually police their fellow-criminals with their own justice system?
Described as a digital black market, the dark web has the practical financial impact of billions of dollars in losses, while the UN notes that dark web activities interfere with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) laid forth by the United Nations to promote peace and sustainability for current and future generations.
The World Affairs Council of NH welcomes Dr. Claire Lee for an online conversation to shine a light on the dark web and guide our audience through the secretive networks of cybercrime, hacks and their perpetrators. Currently Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Dr. Lee recently co-authored a paper, In the Name of Dark Web Justice: A Crime Script Analysis of Hacking Services and the Underground Justice System. She has also made focused studies of how online fraud victims are targeted in China and transnational identity fraud.
Following a moderated Q&A, WACNH invites the online audience to ask their own questions to gain a clearer understanding of how criminals operating on the dark web sell illegal goods, stolen data and hacking services and how cybercurrencies facilitate those actions.
WACNH will livestream this event to its global audience through YouTube on its website homepage.
About the Speaker
Claire Seungeun Lee, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research interests include cybercrime and cybersecurity, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models in online crime, and AI and cybersecurity education. Her research projects have been funded by federal and international agencies, including the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
