Every Dark Web User Is a Risk Analyst

Examining the characteristics of business and information security risk analysts, and comparing these skills to that of dark web users.

Everyone gains skills and learns from their environment and surroundings. The same is said of the online communities that we all take part in. We absorb our surroundings as we engage.

Those that access the dark web have a range of occupations and backgrounds. Anything and everything. From the curious observers to the marketplace users to the writers and programmers.

There are six core risk analyst characteristics that students leave business school with fresh in their minds, and these characteristics are funnily enough shared by darknet users simply through experience, not a business school.

Just by minorly participating in the dark web communities, it means you’ve reached a level of skills that can help other aspects modern day life and professional careers. Skills that make each user a bit of a risk analyst, even if you never knew you were.

A risk analyst can mean many things in many different industries, but dark web users pick up small ripples of what career risk analysts do from mostly business and information security sectors. Business risk analysts are measured, focusing on numbers, statistics and cost analysis.

Every user of a dark web marketplace knows there are risks involved and must measure those risks in delivery, quality, consistency, prices, payment method; the list goes on. It’s comparable.

Information security risk analysts focus on system weaknesses and the management of processes. Which operating system do you use to access the dark web? Is the VPN trustworthy? What’s the path of the fund movement? These questions are measured and answered by users of the dark web, and it’s the same thought process as good risk analysts in information security.

There are six core qualities that a good risk analyst needs to succeed in the “dangerous” world of employment and corporate mentality. Six qualities that each dark web user can lean on as demonstrable skills: Skills learned and worked on while using the dark web out of necessity.

1. It Is About the Details

You can’t have “analyst” in your job title without having a great attention to detail. It is always about the little things, whether you’re finding that one odd number out in a massive excel spreadsheet or discovering a bottling effect in a process chain.

Dark web users naturally are searching everything they do to ensure they make the right decisions when it counts. Choosing darknet market vendors takes care, and the reviews matter, among other things.

2. Thinking and Acting Strategically

Everyone gains skills and learns from their environment and surroundings.

There are threats in everything we do. In the corporate world, the threat is loss of value, ultimately leading to loss of employment.

On the dark web, the threat is loss of value, breach of system and perhaps law enforcement intervention. Dark web users think strategically about how they connect and use the network.

Each site visited in a session can leave a mark. By employing “operational security,” a dark web user is unwittingly thinking and acting like a risk analyst—weighing up the cost benefits of every decision.

3. Inquisitive by Nature

Continued learning and development is a necessity when engaging in endeavours within the sphere of technology. The continuation of learning is paramount. As updates are issued, working fast to ensure security holes are filled is required when safely engaging in the dark web.

Keeping up with the best practices and expanding your personal knowledge are characteristics which can be said about both risk analysts and dark web users.

4. Multi-Disciplined

The best risk analysts are able to think fast on their feet and look at problems from multiple angles—applying their deep knowledge across several fields to come to the best solution.

It’s exactly the same for dark web users. Learning about routing network traffic, ensuring a clean and private line from the network out to keeping scripts off or isolating a system by using virtual machines. It takes multiple disciplines to keep up to date and keep everything running smoothly.

5. Pragmatic in the Face of Conflict

Things don’t always go well if you’re in the position of a risk analyst. It’s part of the role; the real heart of the role. It’s the same for dark web users. If a marketplace vendor pushes a new user to finalizing early(releasing funds prior to shipping), then the user has a serious decision to make. Conflict can ensue.

Similarly, the dark web is full of hacking services and users capable of making digital life difficult. If you’re unable to remain calm, you’re unable to play the game.

6. Engaged in Action

There is no room for hesitation if you’re operating on dark web marketplaces. Arguably, the same can be said for good risk analysts. Ensuring everything is up to speed and operating smoothly is important on both fronts.

It’s something important and something significant. A user may be able to watch the dark web from the outside, but to even get to that point, the user must at least install Tor. This is the first in multiple layers that can and should be applied, which comes with time and experience.

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By engaging in the dark web communities, every user acquires skills in threat modelling and risk analysis, whether they want to or not.

A risk analyst looks at everything by first identifying what might go wrong. From this point, they work to solutions and the opportunity cost of these solutions. Using a type of solution, each issue is attempted to be resolved—working from the most critical downwards.

It’s exactly the same with users of the dark web, albeit lying under the surface subconsciously in actions alone. But it’s not so far removed from the boring skills they teach.

Sure, it’s all a bit of a stretch, but it is interesting to compare. Dark web users all have a little bit of risk analyst in them, in everything they do.