Deep Dive into the Dark Web

Name of Training: Deep Dive into the Dark Web
Trainer: Robert Weiss
Dates: November 08-09, 2026
Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Venue: Exhibition World Bahrain
Cost: 800 BHD

Important Note: This training is exclusively available to government entities and participants from GCC countries.

1. Short Summary

Participants will understand where Tor fits in the ecosystem of privacy and anonymity tools, the Tor protocol in detail, how to operate on Tor, how Hidden Services work in detail, and what can be learned about the Dark Web.

2. Course Description

The recent expansion of Uncrewed Autonomous Systems (UAS) across various sectors presents significant security challenges, as rapid adoption often outpaces critical cybersecurity security engineering, leaving many of these systems vulnerable. The Dark Wolf Hacking Our Drone Workshop provides participants a comprehensive, hands-on understanding of drone security vulnerabilities and the techniques to assess and mitigate them. This intensive two-day program offers a deep dive into drone hacking, equipping cyber professionals with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge necessary to evaluate and secure autonomous systems.

The curriculum spans the UAS architecture and includes an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a Ground Control Station (GCS) system, RF communication protocols, payloads, and log analysis. Through a combination of expert-led instruction and extensive practical lab exercises, participants will gain proficiency in identifying, exploiting, and reporting vulnerabilities across these diverse components. The workshop concludes with a focus on risk assessment, mitigation strategies, and industry best practices for securing drone operations, ensuring attendees leave equipped to proactively identify and secure autonomous systems against evolving cyber threats.

3. Course Outline

Section 1: Introduction to Privacy (1 Hour)

3.1.1 Why Privacy is Important
3.1.2 Tor’s Core Philosophy on Privacy
3.1.3 Anonymity Networks
3.1.4 Comparison of Anonymity Networks
3.1.5 What is the Dark Web?

Section 2: Anonymity, Privacy and Security Tools (1.5 Hours)

3.2.1 Secure Messaging Applications
3.2.2 Privacy Focused Search Engines
3.2.3 Privacy Focused Browsers
3.2.4 Proton Mail
3.2.5 Privacy Focused Distros
3.2.6 Other
3.2.7 Improving personal privacy can be daunting
3.2.8 Phase 1: Low-effort, high-impact changes
3.2.9 Phase 2: Changing services and habits
3.2.10 Phase 3: Infrastructure changes
3.2.11 Phase 4: Advanced practices
3.2.12 Phase 5: Extreme privacy measures

Section 3: Tor Project (2 Hours)

3.3.1 Tor Project History
3.3.2 How protocols evolve
3.3.3 High-level overview of Tor
3.3.4 Tor Project
3.3.5 Tor Browser
3.3.6 LAB: Get Tor (Laptop and Phone)
3.3.7 Tor Circuits: How Tor works

Section 4: Tor in More Detail (4 Hours)

3.4.1 Centralized Services
3.4.2 Tor Citizenship
3.4.3 Life cycle of a Node
3.4.4 LAB: Launch a Node
3.4.5 Get a list of nodes
3.4.6 Tor Metrics
3.4.7 Torify
3.4.8 Stem: Control Tor with Python
3.4.9 How Tor Works (in detail)
3.4.10 Control Messages
3.4.11 LAB: View Control Messages
3.4.12 Open Source
3.4.13 Tor Protocol Documentation
3.4.14 Anti-Censorship Features

Section 5: Hidden Services (The Dark Web) (4 Hours)

3.5.1 Hidden Services
3.5.2 Hidden Service Descriptors
3.5.3 Rendezvous Protocol
3.5.4 Hidden Service Advantages
3.5.5 Hardening a Hidden Service Server
3.5.6 LAB: Launch a Hidden Service
3.5.7 Onion Balance
3.5.8 Onionshare
3.5.9 Securedrop
3.5.10 Tor testnet
3.5.11 Attacks on Tor

Section 6: Dark Web Content (4 Hours)

3.6.1 Finding Sites and Services
3.6.2 Dark Web Content

4. Difficulty Level

Beginner

Beginner - The student has an interest in the topic presented and general technology knowledge that a power user or undergraduate student may have acquired.

5. Suggested Prerequisites

The course is accessible to those with a Beginner knowledge. Students should bring a basic knowledge of Linux.

There are no prerequisites, but a basic knowledge of Linux and a general idea of how public key cryptography works will be helpful.

6. What Students Should Bring

To get full value from the labs, a student should have a Linux laptop on which they can install Tor or a laptop that supports a Linux virtual machine on which they can install Tor.

A phone on which they can install the Tor Browser application is also useful.

7. What the Trainer Will Provide

We will provide scripts necessary to execute the labs.

8. Trainer(s) Bio

Robert Weiss

Robert Weiss [pwcrack] has over two decades of experience in information security as a penetration tester. With a specialty in cryptography he has been researching the Dark Web for the last six years. A hacker conference addict, he is currently DEF CON lead CFP and Speaker Operations Goon.

9. Registration Terms and Conditions

9.1 Trainings are refundable before September 21, 2026, minus a non-refundable processing fee of 100 BHD.

9.2 Between September 21, 2026 and October 21, 2026 partial refunds will be granted, equal to 50% of the course fee minus a processing fee of 100 BHD.

9.3 All trainings are non-refundable after October 21, 2026.

9.4 Training tickets may be transferred to another student. Please email us at training@defcon.org for specifics.

9.5 If a training does not reach the minimum registration requirement, it may be cancelled. In the event the training you choose is cancelled, you will be provided the option of receiving a full refund or transferring to another training (subject to availability).

9.6 Failure to attend the training without prior written notification will be considered a no-show. No refund will be given.

9.7 DEF CON Training may share student contact information, including names and emails, with the course instructor(s) to facilitate sharing of pre-work and course instructions. Instructors are required to safeguard this information and provide appropriate protection so that it is kept private. Instructors may not use student information outside the delivery of this course without the permission of the student.

9.8 By purchasing this ticket you agree to abide by the DEF CON Training Code of Conduct and the registration terms and conditions listed above.