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The Project Aims and Objectives:Aims: The Study aimsof the project is to develop a framework methodology to do a research on the deep web and ascertain the magnitude and type of activities and services offered in the Deep Web. Using existing TOR framework, to access the deep web, we would collect all URL’s linked to the Deep Web, including TOR- and I2P-hidden sites and Freenet resource identifiers, and trying to extract relevant information tied to them like page content, links, email addresses, HTTP headers, and so on. Begin the process of educating the Internet-searching public about this inviable and invaluable information repository. Objectives: (1) Provide knowledge of the role and potentials of the deep web and how it compares to the surface web. Characterize the deep Web's content, quality, and relevance to those who sought the information.(2) Knowledge of the tools and appropriate techniques for identifying and accessing information that is part of the deep Web (e.g., databases, authenticated resources and directing queries to them. (3) Write final dissertation.StepShort DescriptionHypothesisThe term Deep Web refers to the portions of the Internet not accessible via standard Web searches, which only scan indexed pages linked to domain homepages. Very few people know what the deep web is and many don’t know the difference between surface web and the deep web. Information seekers will largely benefit from this research as we intend to commence the process of educating the Internet-searching public about this unregulated area of the internet open to all kinds of activities. Some may have heard of the rumours of what the deep web is and what it contains, however, cannot legitimately claim to know or have browsed the deep web for themselves. Despite all of the confusion and negative information about the deep web as being an illegal market place where activities such as illicit drug sales sites, terrorist blogs, backdoors beyond website pay walls and even child pornography occur, there are also benefits of the deep web for example:- access to detailed, topic-specific research materials from sources such as conference reports, white papers, proprietary journals, databases, and non-patented literature. It is an avenue for expression, organization and the influx of information for people living under oppressive or restrictive regimes. These resources also link differently than surface Web resources, creating a learning curve for beginners. Users stand to benefit by having information how what the deep web is.Research MethodsAnalysis of the types of websites that can be accessedAnalysis of case studies and research done on those who have used itFirst-hand trial and error and/or interaction with certain pages.Compile the communication methods between parties in dubious groups i.e. terror, cybercrime groups and scrutinize the kind of information traded back and forth.Explore methodologies by which to expose or track these groups.IT ArtefactThe framework will consist of software to display activities involving retrieving data from Hidden/Deep Web sites. This will be a two task resource : Discovery and (2) Content extraction. Discovery will automatically find relevant Web sites containing hidden data in the deep web. Content extraction will retrieve data from those sites by filling out forms with relevant keywords. Forms will serve as entry points to the hidden Web data using multi-agent based web mining crawlerEvaluationEvaluation of gathered information to assess how real and credible a threat the Deep Web actually poses to the general public. Surveys, interviews and research from outside sources to be included as well.Project Outline (Please describe briefly in about 200 words the practical steps of which the project will consist. Describe the research methods you will use and the artefact that will be produced)The project studies the Deep Web, an invisible reality which consists of data that cannot be located with a simple Google search. This data isn't necessarily hidden on purpose but it is just hard for current search engine technology to find and make sense of it. This study will also attempt to understand the types of people who utilize its advantages and why, and analyse the methodologies behind the way the websites on the Deep Web operate. In doing this study, references will be made to online materials, social blogs and anonymous sites used by the hacker communities and blogs used by hate groups. Though not every activity in the deep web is illegal which contradicts the notion that Deep Web represents a parallel world of illicit activities. The study will also attempt to understand the threats that the hate groups and hackers pose to our globally connected infrastructure. Feedback and evaluation will be made using a combination of discussions, surveys as well as observations to assess what the benefits and threats are.Literature Survey / Resources’ List: Bergman, M.K. White Paper: “The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value”, Journal of Electronic Publishing, vol 7, issue 1, August 2001.The article provides insights and information that will enable us to continue to better understand the concept of deep Web, very useful insights and simple explanation of the differences between the surface Web and deep Web. The article explains contents of the deep web which are the types of information that are not generally accessible to search engines. Some of those include data sitting in databases, phone and email directories, Whois registration & Domain Name Service data, encyclopedia articles and much, much more. Another interesting topic is searching for data behind the firewalls. Organizations(corporation, government, educational), think they are provided using firewall appliances, firewalls are no barriers to the Deep Web search.Chen, H. Chung, W. Qin, J., Reid, E. Sageman M., Weimann, G. (2008) Uncovering the Deep Web: A Case Study of Jihad on the Web. Journal Of The American Society For Information Science And Technology, 59(8):1347–1359, 2008 Retrieved from: http://www.artisresearch.com/articles/Sageman_Uncovering_the_Dark_Web.pdf, Viewed June 7, 2015In this article, the author shares the reverse side of the Deep Web and draws attention to the negative aspects of the Deep Web. The articles shares some interesting views on how some terrorist groups communicate and share their ideology with other members over the Deep Web. The information in this article can further be of assistance to law enforcement as it could potentially assist in investigation and understanding of terrorist activities by producing results that could potentially help guide both policymaking and intelligence research experts. “Journey Into The Hidden Web: A Guide For New Researchers”, http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/journey-into-the-hidden-web-a-guide-for-new-researchers/, Viewed June 7, 2015This article tends to explain the starting points for exploring the darker hidden web. In the past technological barriers made it difficult to access the Deep Web, but it is now possible to overcome these barriers. The article describes the TOR technology which is used to anonymously browse the Deep Web and sites that are hosted through its hidden services that are only accessible by other Tor users. Scholarly Contributions of the Project (Specify what you consider to be the original aspects of your project in relation to scholarly contributions in Computing/ Information Technology. What does it add to human knowledge? Cite academic papers that discuss this topic, thus showing it has scholarly credibility. Indicate what gap in our knowledge you are trying to fill. This requirement is to demonstrate academic rigour. It will not be enough to show that your project is of interest to a single organisation. It has to be of general interest to scholars and other organisations)The term “Deep Web” excites confusion and panic. There’s the general notion that the Deep Web is an area of the internet that all illegal activities take place here. Not all activities in the Deep Web are illegal but in the last several years, the Deep Web has slowly evolved into an area containing activities that are illegal. The expanding trend of Deep Websites creates a tremendous risk of the exposure and malicious use of personal and enterprise data. The study will attempt to shine some light on the Deep Web and uncover positives/negatives, patterns and relationships for example the Deep Web has been for many years the privileged conduit used by governments to exchange secret data, for journalists to bypass censorship of several states and also dissidents to avoid the control of authoritarian regimes… and these are just a few samples of legal use of the resources of the Deep Web. Interest in this topic has motivated many scholars and scholarly organizations to investigate the specifics of the Deep Web as it relates to hate groups (terrorism etc.). The University of Arizona's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has compiled an archive portal gathering up information from 28 different forums with up to 13,000,000 messages to give the reader an idea of what kind of communication is currently being made through the Deep Web with respect to terror. (Artifical Intelligence Laboratory: http://ai.arizona.edu/research/terror/). As cited above, a majority of the information that has been gleaned from the Deep Web in most scholarly contributions revolve around terrorism. H. Chen's comprehensive book Deep Web, Exploring and Data Mining the Dark Side of the Web does a thorough analysis of the types of dangerous groups conspiring with each other and how they operate. Interviews with participants in hate group chat rooms is the subject of Glaser, Dixit, and Green's article Studying Hate Crime with the Internet: What Makes Racists Advocate Racial Violence, published in 2002 in the Journal of Social Issues Volume 58. Both of these sources are good examples of the type of knowledge we've been able to ascertain from the Deep Web and will both serve as strong sources for this project. But what this paper aims to accomplish is a further knowledge into the commercial aspects of the Deep Web and not just the communicative benefits. Is the Deep Web used solely by illegal activities?Furthermore, is there a whole other type of individual, someone not interested in speaking their mind but searching for certain items to purchase, and if so, what's on there that is actually attainable? Who's buying it and why? At the end, does this underground network really pose a threat to the general public?Description of the Deliverables:The final deliverable will include exhaustive analysis of previous research and first-hand experience attempting to navigate through the Deep Web. A guided tour, if you will, of the many different aspects and explanation of gathered data for evaluation. Evaluation Criteria: This paper proposes to understand how to navigate the Deep Web, understand the kinds of people who utilize its advantages and why, and scrutinize the methodologies behind the way the websites on the Deep Web operate. Research methods will include analysis of case studies and actual trial and error in accessing web pages that are hidden from Google and other such search engines. Guidelines will prohibit any participation in blatant illegal activity, while an investigation into how those involved in illegal behaviour communicate via this medium. This will be conducted to understand how that aspect of it works, used as building block to further evaluation and analysis. In conclusion, we'll get a better understanding of how the Deep Web thrives and, more importantly, determine its true potential. Can it expand, to what degree does it expand in terms of size and volume of available sites for index, and is it really as bad as we've been led to believe? The evaluation will be done based on the surveys and statistical data.Resource Plan: Resources for this study will include:Personal computer system connected to high speed internet.Software: Download and install the TOR browser bundle from https://www.torproject.org/proje...The TOR Browser Bundle is a browser configured to use the TOR relay network. The Tor network uses peer-to-peer connections, allowing users to share files directly and secretly and no one can identify your physical location. The HiddenWiki.org is censorship-resistant wiki that provides links to Deep Web sites. Also study will use online survey and interviews.Project Plan and Timing : Task IDNameDurationStart DateFinish Date1Identify Topic3 DaysJun-02-2015Jun-05-20152Draft Proposal29 DaysJun-03-2015Jul-02-2015Submit Proposal To GDI29 DaysJun-07-2015Jul-02-2015Identify and Contact Dissertation AdvisorJul-07-2015Jul-09-2015 Revise Proposal DocumentJul-07-2015Jul-13-2015Submit Final Version of Proposal DocumentJul-13-2015Project Planning Phase (Design)Develop Questionnaire and SurveyRequirements and Access Plan of Deep Web - review the methodologies behind the way the websites on the Deep Web operate. We aim to acquire further knowledge into the commercial aspects of the Deep Web and not just the communicative benefits.Project Initiation and ExecutionConfigure browser to use the TOR relay network to understand the deep web interface, diversity, structural complexity, depth, search engine coverage and how communication flows via this medium. Survey, Observation and Interview of users/groups/technical experts Milestone 1 Report – Findings from surveySurvey distinguishes all related notions for accessing the deep, Observation and Interview of users/groups/technical experts Project Monitoring and Controlling PhaseMilestone 2 Report – Summarized Findings of this survey for the deep Web Final SubmissionJul-27-2015Sep-28-2015 Risk Assessment:The major obstacles that could possibly arise will be lack of access to certain sites and getting actual first-hand experience with some of them. Due to its secretive nature, there will be extensive trial and error with the use of portals and search engines that might claim to grant access to the Deep Web but, in reality, prove to be false or only lead so far. Actual interaction with any criminal activity will be explicitly avoided.Quality Assurance:Carefully gathering the required information will mean the results that will be generated will be more accurate, and therefore more valuable to the project initiative. Continuous dialogue with the DA and ongoing checks against progress over time and the focus will be on monitoring the project quality while working within the timelines agreed upon.Formal milestone reports will also be submitted as requested.
Solution: proposal research project