Australian University Offers Darknet Courses for IT Students

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In Australia, special courses on the darknet and cybersecurity were launched, about 80% of IT students were involved as pioneers of this training.

What kind of university?​

Charles Sturt National University of Australia (CSU) has partnered with an industry organization to launch an online course on the dark side of the Internet for the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics.

Martin Hale, managing director of IT Masters, said there is a heated debate and deep debate at CSU's School of Computer Science and Mathematics about whether to offer such a course. This moment caused a mixed reaction about the teaching staff of the institution.

“Initially, when we proposed to launch this course, we were prepared to face high resistance from all stakeholders due to the level of sensitivity on this issue, especially recently. However, with less than expected resistance, the idea was adopted after several meetings. Faculty leaders have decided that it is important to offer graduates the opportunity to acquire additional skills and knowledge about the darknet economy, with an emphasis on cybersecurity. "- said M. Hale.

According to Martin Hale, the darknet is a hidden growing economy, where anonymous markets make it easier to buy and sell anything related to illegal goods and services, such as personal data, hacking tools, drugs, weapons, various sensitive data and other goodies. He described it as a complex, dynamic and mysterious combination of areas where all types of criminals meet, exchange information and trade their goods. This area is of interest to many researchers.

Hale pointed out that over $ 72 billion in illegal transactions involve cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, monero or dashcoin, all of which go unnoticed. Martin is confident that most transactions take place on the darknet, and that all sources of DDoS attacks and various sources of malicious software are based on the dark side of the Internet. (Note: Pavluu - Really, Martin? By the way, read our translation about bitcoin transactions on the darknet)

Today, in every business, a manager in charge of information security is an absolutely useless frame if he is not aware of how the darknet, onion routing works and what is hidden on the other side of the Internet of the Moon. Lack of knowledge in this area can lead to very specific risks.

“One of the best ways to effectively combat cyber threats emanating from the dark web, as well as massively suppress illegal dark web markets, is to empower people to understand, and understand in detail, how the dark web works. the dark side of the Internet. By the way, today more than 80% of students have chosen this subject as their first. "- said Hale

Subject "Dark Web" for graduate students only​

Moreover, CSU recently introduced a special subject in its curriculum - the Dark Web. It is offered only to graduate students, and is lectured by Dr. R. Islam, who is the leader of the university's cybersecurity research group.

R. Islam has extensive experience in combating malware and DDoS attacks. The scholar has published over 100 articles on cybersecurity and has presented topics at over 70 conferences. In his field, he is a famous person. Here's what he actually said about this course:

The course will provide any IT student with a greater understanding of the emerging dynamic digital threats. In 2017 alone, the US Department of Defense spent $ 8 billion on cyber and internet crime at the national security level. This shows how serious the problem has become as the massive dark web economy continues to grow and expand in the shadows. Much attention will be paid to hacking, identity theft, fraud, structural attacks, cyber harassment, as well as a systematic approach to studying the dark web with an emphasis on cyber threats. We will analyze in real time the shadow economy, the cryptocurrencies it thrives on, and the cyberattacks that emanate from the dark web. Students will also be trained in darknet forensics, technological techniques used by criminals, andsocial engineering techniques.

Darknet training program​

1. The curriculum includes the following topics:

• An introduction to the dark web.
• Malicious darknet;
• Analysis of web content data;
• Dark web forensics;
• Open source intelligence

2. Upon completion, students should be able to:

• Be able to distinguish between theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches to the dark web;
• Be able to analyze the evolution of the dark web in the context of modern crime;
• Be able to distinguish and classify the forms of activity of intruders through the dark web, and the technological and socio-technical methods used to carry out such crimes;
• Be able to investigate assumptions about the behavior and roles of criminals and victims in the dark web;
• Be able to analyze and evaluate the impact of cybercrime, as well as mitigating techniques used to defend against cybercrime;
• Be able to discuss, analyze, and apply research and applications related to the dark web.

Instead of a conclusion​

As you can see from the translations of articles, the darknet is a popular topic abroad. In Germany, shops and sites are being closed, in the United States they are monitoring Bitcoin transactions on the darknet, in Australia they are studying at the level of higher education. And only in Russia they do not study anything and do not try to resist - and our darknet is growing just insanely. Russia is the first country contributing to the growth of the dark network. And here, to be honest, there is something to be proud of.