Anonymous Hackers Take Down Over 10,000 Tor Sites on Dark Web Responsible for Child Porn

Believe it or not, but there is an entire underground society on the Internet that consists of a computer network where hackers there is a plethora of databases and other web services that cannot be indexed by conventional search engines or accessed by common web browsers. Within the confines of the Dark Web, also called the Deep Web, the popularized Anonymous hacker group has taken down over 10,000 Tor Sites after they discovered the sites engaging in child pornography.

What is the Dark Web?

The Dark Web is made up of a wide range of information that hackers share with one another whether it be tools for hacking large networks, malware designed to collect personal data, or the sale of specialized malware kits used to hack specific targets. Moreover, the Dark Web is a culprit in the spread and poliferation of recent ransomware, such as CryptoLocker, Locky Ransomware, and Osiris Ransomware. At times, those who conduct activity on the Dark Web is not agreeable to everyone who uses the underground network. Case in point, the known hacktivist group, Anonymous, is not taking too kindly to the actions of some who are engaging in child pornography on thousands of sites on the Dark Web.

As an answer to the grievance that Anonymous is having with thousands of sites touting child pornography, the hacker group has taken down the 10,613 Tor websites that are estimated to have content amounting to over 7,000 TB of data. With such a vast amount of data, there is a likelihood of most of it being explicit images consisting of child pornography, which is something the Anonymous hacker group is obviously against.

Not all of the data within the 10,000 Dark Web sites taken down by Anonymous made up of child porn. Though, the majority of the sites practice in some type of illegal activity, which those inclined to use the Dark Web through a Tor web browser will access in some form.

Anonymous Hackers Look to do Good and Gain Notoriety

Those who are still looking to access any of the 10,000-plus sites that were taken down on the Dark Web will receive a message that Anonymous put in place clearly stating that the source was hacked and that they have "a zero tolerance policy to child pornography."

In the past Anonymous has gained notoriety for their hacktivist actions taking a strong stand on a matter and then acting out on those who oppose their views or have malicious intentions against innocent victims. Interestingly enough, Anonymous' views have ranged from small issues dealing with individuals to larger issues in the political spectrum around the world. Their stance on many issues is made known by their hacking efforts that are usually successful in taking down a website or server entity of those that they have strong disagreement.

As Anonymous hackers continue their hacktivism efforts, they become a natural ally for law enforcement authorities. Such is currently taking place as they send in a large amount of the child porn data to uncover the perpetrators in the recent take-down efforts on over 10,000 sites on the Dark Web. In addition, the hosting companies, such as Freedom Hosting II, who hosted some of the downed sites that harbored child pornography, are suspected to be in a mix of investigations by law enforcement once the data is sorted through.