EAE News
International Safer Internet Day: the darkest web trends
17 de February de 2020
What are the darkest trends on the web? Discover the main dangers of the digital world on Safer Internet Day!
Is the Internet safe? What are the main threats it poses? While technological advances may well have expanded the benefits and capacities of this gigantic network, it is also true that it has boosted the expansion of improper practices that, instead of fostering free communication and access to information, have actually corrupted the digital environment to teh extent that it has become as unsafe as the physical word, or perhaps even more so. But what are these threats? To mark International Safer Internet Day, we take a look at the darkest trends on the web.
Fake News
In terms of the darkest web trends, one of the most advanced and rapidly increasing problems over the last few years has been fake news. This disinformation is used as a media weapon to cause chaos, fear and rejection of certain political or social causes. Behind this powerful manipulation tool, we almost always find extremist groups that have turned social media and other digital platforms into tools of disinformation and blackmail. Confirming sources and verifying information is now more important than ever before in the digital world.
Deepfakes
Along the same lines as fake news, another growing internet trend is the so-called deepfakes. This technique, developed thank to advances in artificial intelligence, consists of manipulating videos, audios and images to portray a reality that, although it appears unedited, is nothing more than a fake. One of the most commonly cited examples is pornographic videos with the faces of politicians or celebrities pasted on. Due to the accuracy of artificial intelligence, although obviously fakes, the videos end up seeming as real as the authentic ones. Faced with the impending danger of deepfakes, internet users must take great care when deciding which images and videos to post.
Big data used for disreputable ends
The power of big data was sure not to go unnoticed by those using the internet to pursue ethically dubious objectives, for whom it has become a powerful tool. One of the clearest examples is the scandal of the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica which, thanks to Facebook, bought the data of millions of US voters and managed to influence the elections between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Using the internet is as easy as it is useful, but modern internet users have to be aware that each click counts, particularly in terms of the unstoppable onslaught of big data.
Automation of hacking and scam chatbots
Artificial intelligence has led to the development of other dark trends on the web, such as automated hacking and chatbots. In this case, it is a practice that dates all the way back to the origin of the internet, as hackers and cybercriminals have existed right since the Worldwide Web was founded. However, automation and the creation of chatbots have perfected digital scams to the point that they are almost undetectable. Modern internet users have to be very cautious when downloading unknown files, clicking strange links or sharing valuable information.
State surveillance
According to the report “The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation” (2018) produced by 26 academics from the United Kingdom, another danger currently posed by the advance of artificial intelligence is the personalization and automation of state surveillance. Processing mass information and using it to control, manipulate and intimidate the population is a reality that is almost impossible to escape from. Browsing the internet is no longer safe and, therefore, internet users have to take increasing care in terms of their movements. As the author Ramón J. Sender put it, “the conscience of danger is already half of security and salvation”.