Dark Web & Underground research

41 papers · Research category

Research on underground online activity examines how forums, markets and concealed services are organised and observed. Investigators may use this literature to understand a setting, interpret terminology or evaluate the limitations of a collected dataset.

Scope of this collection

This subject bibliography follows the existing Dark Web & Underground category assignment. It includes research associated with online markets, underground communities and information collected from those environments. Dark Web Analysis is the separate investigation-type collection for papers assigned to that application.

Using this research

Check when and where observations were collected, how access was obtained and which parts of a community were visible. Platform closures, restricted membership and changing aliases can limit comparisons across datasets. Claims about an account or marketplace should be assessed against the study’s own evidence.

References reproduce the metadata held by ALEX. Missing author, year or source details are identified in the listing. Publication years are shown as recorded; collection and retrieval dates are not substituted. Follow the original source to verify a citation.

Bibliography

Showing 1–41 of 41 papers, ordered by publication year (newest first), then title.

Earlier research · five years or older Historical reference

Age markers as of 2026-11-06.

A Comparative Analysis of the Deep Web and Dark Web: Architecture, Anonymity, and Cybersecurity Implications
Harshith V Malipatil (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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A Computational Framework for Dark-Vessel Screening: Integrating SAR–AIS Fusion, OSINT, and Social Network Analysis
Abdulmajeed Albaqami; Qazi Emad Ul Haq (2026) · Future Internet
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Anticipating The Invisible: Exploring How Organizations Operationalize Dark Web Intelligence For Physical Security
Michelle Virgilio; Mahdi Mirhoseini; Arman Sadreddin (2026) · Journal of the Association for Information Systems
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APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR MONITORING DARK WEB ACTIVITIES
Abimbola G. Akintola; YUSUF OWOLABI OLATUNDE; Kolawole Y. Obiwusi; Ganiyat K. Afolabi-Yusuf; Muhammed A. Adebisi; Ayobami A. Tewogbade; Lawrence O. Omotosho; Olajide Y. Adebayo; Aminat A. Oladipo-Tanimowo (2026) · Science Journal of University of Zakho
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Beyond the Surface Web: An Analytical Study of Deep Web and Dark Web Threat Ecosystems
Deepa Barethiya; Himanshu Praveen Dethekar; Bhavesh Tembhurkar (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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Cybercrime on the Dark Web: Risks, Challenges, and Prevention Techniques
Rajeshree Wasnik (2026) · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology
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Dark web Crawling dataset in text
Dipak Bhuva (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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DARKNET BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS:LEVERAGING NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING AND MACHINE LEARNING FOR CYBERCRIMINAL ACTIVITY PREDICTION
Parihar Nilesh; Sujith Annie; CV Mr. Shanmukaswamy; Patel Miki; Chaturvedi Puja; V N Dr. Kamalesh (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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DarKnight: Retrieval-Guided Agentic Framework for Breaking Dark Web CAPTCHA Gates
Binghui Wu; Yeo Zi Yi; Darren Tan; Manit Baser; Levente Csikor; Dinil Mon Divakaran (2026) · arXiv (Cornell University)
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DWI-CMM: A Quantitative Capability Maturity Model for Cybersecurity-Oriented Dark Web Intelligence
Yu Wang (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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Dynamic Topic-Guided Deep Learning for Scalable and Interpretable Dark Web Text Analysis
Vathaluru Seshannagari Himabindhu; Vendipalli Niranjan Kumar; Ryali Revathi; Sama Pavithra; Dr. S.Surya Kumari (2026) · International Scientific Journal of Engineering and Management
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Extending MISP Taxonomies for Drug-Related Forum Classification on the Dark Web: A Human-in-the-Loop and LLM-Based Approach
José-Amelio Medina-Merodio; Mikel Ferrer-Oliva; Alejandro Ruiz-Zambrano; José Fernández-López; Luis De-Marcos (2026) · Future Internet
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Extending taxonomies for P2P crypto forum classification in the dark web: An iterative methodological approach
Jose-Amelio Medina-Merodio; Mikel Ferrer-Oliva; Alejandro Ruiz-Zambrano; José Fernández-López; Adrián Domínguez-Díaz (2026) · Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation
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Hybrid text mining models for investigative keyword expansion on child sexual abuse in the dark web
Jin Gyeong Kim; Jiyeon Kim (2026) · PLOS One
Collection: ALEX regular weekly discovery review queue
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Inside Crypter-as-a-Service: An Ecosystem Analysis of the exploit.in Underground Forum Research Talks
Mathieu Jeannot; Jean-Yves Marion; Manon Pamar; Maira Nassau; Pierre Marty; Romain Guittienne (2026) · arXiv (Cornell University)
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Investigating AI Enabled Attacks and Malware Within Dark Web Ecosystems: An Updated Assessment
William Easttom; William Butler (2026) · European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security
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Multimodal Temporal Graph Neural Networks for Detecting and Disrupting Dark-Web Cybercrime Communities: A Vendor-Disjoint Inductive Evaluation Finding No Measurable Benefit from the Graph
Khan, Mohammad Amir; Khan, Eng.Dr. Ahmed Khan (2026)
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Nothing to Dread: A Measurement Study of a Dark Web Social Forum
Megha Sundriyal; Jaehong Kim; Wenchao Dong; Wonjae Lee; Meeyoung Cha (2026) · Proceedings of the 2026 ACM Internet Measurement Conference
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The Dark Web and Cyber Sovereignty: Risks to States and Defense Mechanisms
Anar Suvarov (2026) · Dövlətin kibersuverenliyinin təmin olunmasının elmi-praktiki problemləri respublika konfransı
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Innovative Approaches to Dark Web Monitoring for Cybersecurity Intelligence
Anusha Reddy; K. Santhi Sri; Gayatri Ketepalli (2025) · IEEE International Conference on Emerging Trends in Computing and Communication (ETCOM)
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Navigating the Shadows: Manual and Semi-Automated Evaluation of the Dark Web for Cyber Threat Intelligence
Philipp Kühn; Kyra Wittorf; Christian Reuter (2024) · IEEE Access
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Autism Disclosures and Cybercrime Discourse on a Large Underground Forum
Jessica Man; Gilberto Atondo Siu; Alice Hutchings (2023) · 2023 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
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Hacker’s Paradise: Analysing music in a cybercrime forum
Anna Talas; Alice Hutchings (2023) · 2023 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
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In the market for a Botnet? An in-depth analysis of botnet-related listings on Darkweb marketplaces
Dimitrios Georgoulias; Jens Myrup Pedersen; Alice Hutchings; Morten Falch; Emmanouil Vasilomanolakis (2023) · 2023 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
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Building and Testing a Network of Social Trust in an Underground Forum: Robust Connections and Overlapping Criminal Domains
Dalyapraz Manatova; Dewesha Sharma; Sagar Samtani; L. Jean Camp (2022) · 2022 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
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THREAT/crawl: a Trainable, Highly-Reusable, and Extensible Automated Method and Tool to Crawl Criminal Underground Forums
Michele Campobasso; Luca Allodi (2022) · 2022 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
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A qualitative mapping of Darkweb marketplaces
5+
Dimitrios Georgoulias; Jens Myrup Pedersen; Morten Falch; Emmanouil Vasilomanolakis (2021) · 2021 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
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Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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The shady economy: Understanding the difference in trading activity from underground forums in different layers of the Web
5+
Adrian Bermudez-Villalva; Gianluca Stringhini (2021) · 2021 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
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Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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Threats from the Dark: A Review over Dark Web Investigation Research for Cyber Threat Intelligence
Randa Basheer; Bassel Alkhatib (2021) · Journal of Computer Networks and Communications
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Toad in the Hole or Mapo Tofu? Comparative Analysis of English and Chinese Darknet Markets
5+
Yichao Wang; Budi Arief; Julio Hernandez-Castro (2021) · 2021 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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Tokyo, Denver, Helsinki, Lisbon or the Professor? A Framework for Understanding Cybercriminal Roles in Darknet Markets
5+
Claudia Peersman; Denny Pencheva; Awais Rashid (2021) · 2021 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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Analysis of Darknet Market Activity as a Country-Specific, Socio-Economic and Technological Phenomenon
5+
Anela Sutanrikulu; Sandra Czajkowska; Jens Grossklags (2020) · 2020 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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Beneath the radar: Exploring the economics of business fraud via underground markets
5+
Carlos H. Gannan; Ugur Akyazi; Elena Tsvetkova (2020) · 2020 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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Hacker Forum Exploit and Classification for Proactive Cyber Threat Intelligence
5+
Apurv Singh Gautam; Yamini Gahlot; Pooja Kamat (2020) · Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems
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Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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From playing games to committing crimes: A multi-technique approach to predicting key actors on an online gaming forum
5+
Jack Hughes; Ben Collier; Alice Hutchings (2019) · 2019 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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Mapping the Underground: Supervised Discovery of Cybercrime Supply Chains
5+
Rasika Bhalerao; Maxwell Aliapoulios; Ilia Shumailov; Sadia Afroz; Damon McCoy (2019) · 2019 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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At-Risk System Identification via Analysis of Discussions on the Darkweb
5+
Eric Nunes; Paulo Shakarian; Gerardo I. Simari (2018) · 2018 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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AI web-contents analyzer for monitoring underground marketplace
5+
Author metadata incomplete (2017) · Springer
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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All your cards are belong to us: Understanding online carding forums
5+
Andreas Haslebacher; Jeremiah Onaolapo; Gianluca Stringhini (2017) · 2017 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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Profiling underground merchants based on network behavior
5+
Srikanth Sundaresan; Damon McCoy; Sadia Afroz; Vern Paxson (2016) · 2016 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime)
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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An exploration of the factors affecting the advertised price for stolen data
5+
Thomas J. Holt; Yi-Ting Chua; Olga Smirnova (2013) · 2013 APWG eCrime Researchers Summit
Collection: APWG.org eCrimes Research · Original collection
Paper details
Research context
This work reflects the evidence and technical environment at the time of publication. Its methods and insights may remain valuable, while some findings or practical guidance may have been refined or superseded by subsequent research and developments. Please consult more recent sources before applying it to current research or investigations.
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These collections offer a different way into the library; their bibliographies need not contain the same papers.

Dark Web Analysis · Investigation type
Cybercrime & Fraud · Research category