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Beneath the surface of normal internet content and traffic (the so-called surface web) lies content that we do not normally encounter. This is not just the deep web, i.e. the part that requires some form of authorization and is not indexed by search engines. Roughly half of the content on the internet, as a global system of interconnected computer networks, is represented by the dark web. It is not often discussed in public, and when it is, it is often simplified, if not downright wrong. That is why it is valuable when experts comment on the topic. One of them is FIT VUT researcher Daniel Dolejška, a doctoral student and passionate programmer who is actively involved in the issue of trade in illegal products on the dark web. In cooperation with local and foreign security forces, he strives to find new ways to identify illegal cryptocurrency transactions.

Dolejška has repeatedly devoted himself to popularizing topics in the field of cybersecurity, and in August he accepted an invitation to appear on the Reset podcast. Last week, the episode was published and even aired on CNN Prima News. Dolejška discussed the topic with Robert Šuman, an expert from ESET Research.

Freedom of speech, digital underworld... or both?

Accessing the dark web requires specialized software (the best known is the Tor browser) and knowledge of the necessary addresses, which are different from the commonly known URL addresses of the surface web. Access to the dark web is not illegal in itself, but it does require adherence to certain principles (not disclosing personal information, ideally using a VPN, etc.). And also vigilance.

The motivation behind the creation of this "layer" of the internet was to create an environment that would ensure anonymous (in the sense of the anonymity of the users themselves) and free access to information. Anonymity is almost guaranteed, but users can sometimes be identified by the context of their behavior (access times, writing style, etc.).

Unfortunately, the dark web is now rightly associated with the sale of weapons, drugs, prescription drugs, and cyberattacks. It has become (by no means exclusively!) the infrastructure of cybercrime. However, this transformation required the development of other technologies, primarily cryptocurrencies, which enabled monetization and, with their emphasis on anonymity, became a natural complement to operations in this area of the internet.

The dark web is not just about illegal content and trade, but also about services such as encrypted email services. On the dark web, you can also find versions of servers such as BBC, Reddit, and Facebook that circumvent the restrictions of authoritarian regimes. Ensuring freedom of speech was the fundamental motivation for its creation, and it is still an argument for the existence of the dark web today.

Daniel Dolejška touched on all these points and many others in his interview for the Reset podcast. You can listen to it here or watch it on the CNN Prima News website.

We would like to thank everyone who came to FIT on Friday, September 26, for this year's Researchers' Night and let our researchers convince them that science and information technology in particular constitute the wealth of our society. This year, we had a record number of visitors: 850!

We would especially like to thank our researchers for their extremely interesting presentations and workshops, which made the program truly exceptional. Finally, we would also like to thank the members of the Student Union for their crucial help throughout the evening.

Thanks to all of you, we had an extraordinary evening with science.

For more photos, check out our photo gallery HERE.

On Thursday, September 18, the Ceremonial Academic Assembly of BUT was held in the Rector's Hall – one day before the 126th anniversary of the founding of our university. The meeting was attended by members of the academic community, university staff, representatives of university organizations, and invited guests. VUT Rector Ladislav Janíček evaluated the past academic year and focused in particular on the concept of excellence: "I am convinced that excellence must be sought above all in our people, both employees and students. They are the essence and source of excellence at universities, because it is our people who achieve excellent results, and their talent and abilities are what fill the concept of university excellence with concrete content and determine its level of competitiveness."

The rector then presented awards to prominent figures who have contributed to the development of the University of Technology. And it is in the field of awards that the Faculty of Information Technology has achieved extraordinary success this year. Three Rector's Awards for outstanding scientific and artistic achievements went to our researchers, which, together with the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), is the best result within the university.

The award for Outstanding Conference Contribution with a Significant Impact on the Community was received by the co-authors of the article "Decentralized Planning Using Probabilistic Hyperproperties. 24th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS'25)" Associate Professor Milan Češka, Filip Macák, and Roman Andriushchenko. This contribution was awarded the Best Student Paper prize at the AAMAS 2025 conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems. You can find out more about the article and the background to its creation in our earlier article.

The award for Result with Exceptional Media Coverage went to Professor Jiří Jaroš, who led a research team that, in collaboration with University College London (UCL), contributed to the development of a groundbreaking diagnostic technology: an optical 3D photoacoustic scanner. This technology opens up new possibilities in the non-invasive diagnosis of vascular diseases, inflammatory skin conditions, and rheumatoid arthritis. More information on Professor Jaroš's work can be found here.

The third success, Award for significant results not covered by other awards, went to the team consisting of Vladimír Veselý, Daniel Dolejška, and Matěj Grégr for their project BAZAR: Building a community around the issue of cashless dark markets. The project, which focused on obtaining non-trivial information about the operation of dark markets and sharing this information among leading experts within Czech and European security forces, received the Minister of the Interior's Award for exceptional results in the field of security research, experimental development, and innovation at the end of last year.

The Rector of BUT also awarded seven gold, ten silver, and seven commemorative medals. Silver medals were awarded to the following members of the Faculty of Information Technology: Associate Professor Dušan Kolář for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, research, development, and innovation, and Associate Professor Kamil Malinka for the Security@FIT research team for outstanding achievements that contributed to the promotion of BUT in the fields of research, development, and innovation. The BUT commemorative medal for many years of professional, dedicated work in technical and organizational support at FIT BUT was presented by the rector to Mr. Zdeněk Juříček.

At the academic community meeting, the Rector's Awards were also presented to BUT students and graduates. Anton Firc received the award for outstanding results in scientific training in the form of doctoral studies; Adam Valík received the award for outstanding results during his bachelor's studies, and David Mihola received the award for outstanding results during his master's studies. Finally, Miroslav Šafář received the Award for a BUT graduate for outstanding results in master's studies.

We congratulate all the award winners and thank them for representing our faculty!

More information about the ceremony and the award winners can be found in an article on the BUT website by Petr Kubíček.