A study found that there are about 500 connections per day to Tor from Nepal. Tor is free software for enabling anonymous communication which provides access to the dark web that consists set of hidden contents within the World Wide Web.
Using Tor makes it more difficult to trace Internet activity to the user: this includes “visits to Web sites, online posts, instant messages, and other communication forms.” Tor’s intended use is to protect the personal privacy of its users, as well as their freedom and ability to conduct confidential communication by keeping their Internet activities from being monitored.
Tor does not prevent an online service from determining when it is being accessed through Tor. Tor protects a user’s privacy but does not hide the fact that someone is using Tor. Some websites restrict allowances through Tor. For example, the MediaWikiTorBlock extension automatically restricts edits made through Tor, although Wikipedia allows some limited editing in exceptional circumstances.
As written in ThreatNix official site, the major unsavory parts of the dark web where Nepali presence was widely observed were child pornography forums. Nepal recently has become a hub for pedophiles from various nations, just last year 2 foreign nationals were arrested and charged with pedophilia charges.
Henrykus Adrinas Josepus Creujesan of Holland and Albert Fred Klinicke from Germany were arrested for being involved in pedophilia. Xinhua, a Chinese news agency published a news report last year about how foreign pedophiles were targeting Nepal emboldened by illiteracy and lower economic status of Nepali society. During our research, we observed that the child pornographic forums in the dark web were also promoting Nepal as a haven for pedophilia. Within these forums, there were plenty of discussions regarding pedophilia and Nepal, especially Nepali orphanages and their use for child exploitation.
Similarly, a drug market is another corner of the dark web where the presence of Nepali is quite apparent. Drugs like hash, opium, and charas are claimed to be of Nepali origin, but it is found that these drugs are being shipped from different countries.
The drug trade has grown so immense that a drug dealer based in Nepal was found to be operating in one of the drug trading platforms. The trader named “JARIBOOTIWALA” was selling Opium and Modafinil that was claimed to be shipped from Nepal.
All these findings show the status of Nepali people in dark web. Looking at these details, we can easily state that many numbers of Nepali actively engaged in hot dark web scene. This presence will only increase over time if no proper laws and rule are made. As soon as possible the government should move forward to take action.