Ashley Madison! Yes old news by now and there are people scrambling to see if they have actually been "outed." There is a report of a policeman allegedly committing suicide because his name appeared on the A.W. site and he had never accessed the site. (A search for Captain Michael Gorhum will provide additional info).
However, Ashley Madison is not the shaker in this story. For me it is what exposed A.W. - something unknown to me before - the dark web. The apparent ability for unknown individuals/organizations to infiltrate servers of private. public, and government databases and escape detection is a news shaker. I have yet to see the same mass concern for this significant security threat as was shown when credit card numbers were stolen. I am not one for more government surveillance, but now I am rethinking my position.
I am probably behind the learning curve regarding what exists beyond our normal web of the Google's, Yahoo's, etc (the surface web). Here is an excerpt from the BrightPlanet - deep web intelligence site( http://www.brightplanet.com/2014/03/clearing-confusion-deep-web-vs-dark-web/ )
"Continuing with our definitions, we’ve learned that the Surface Web is anything that a search engine can access and the Deep Web is anything that a search engine can’t access. The Dark Web then is classified as a small portion of the Deep Web that has been intentionally hidden and is inaccessible through standard web browsers.
The most famous content that resides on the Dark Web is found in the TOR network. The TOR network is an anonymous network that can only be accessed with a special web browser, called the TOR browser. This is the portion of the Internet most widely known for illicit activities because of the anonymity associated with the TOR network"
I liked your point on the lack of concern and coverage over credit card numbers being stolen and how instances like that do get get the same public attention. Technology never ceases to amaze me, I think it us unfathomable how something like the Ashley Madison hack, or any hack for that matter can even happen and it is even more appealing to think about the "dark web". This goes to prove that nothing is safe of the internet, it almost seems like nothing is safe anymore. Anything can be hacked, even school and government sites that have top security. I just find this whole concept mind blowing, but excellent post that really gets the mind thinking.
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