Interconnection between darknets

TL;DR

This study explores the interconnectedness of Tor and i2p darknets, revealing their ecosystem-like relationship and providing a comprehensive dataset for law enforcement and research purposes.

Contribution

First dataset combining Tor and i2p network information, enabling analysis of their interconnections and ecosystem structure.

Findings

Networks form an ecosystem with clear interconnections

Identified key domains and service types in each network

Both networks should be studied together for effective analysis

Abstract

Tor and i2p networks are two of the most popular darknets. Both darknets have become an area of illegal activities highlighting the necessity to study and analyze them to identify and report illegal content to Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). This paper analyzes the connections between the Tor network and the i2p network. We created the first dataset that combines information from Tor and i2p networks. The dataset contains more than 49k darknet services. The process of building and analyzing the dataset shows that it is not possible to explore one of the networks without considering the other. Both networks work as an ecosystem and there are clear paths between them. Using graph analysis, we also identified the most relevant domains, the prominent types of services in each network, and their relations. Findings are relevant to LEAs and researchers aiming to crawl and investigate i2p and Tor networks.