Seriously though, I think the first step is to understand the other layers: Matt Hughes' answer to What specifically does the deep web consist of? does a great job of breaking it down. I've quoted him dhimant tirwar here:
If you consider the way he defines the third and fourth layers then that's pretty much everything that could be on what one would reasonably term a 'web' and so, excludes individual disconnected devices.
There really can't be anything below Deep Web (though I would happily stand corrected if need be), because it's just not possible. There's no seabed to the Deep Web, sure, but I feel like the existing clearly-defined layers are mutually exclusive and comprehensively exhaustive:
Anyone who tells you there are deeper webs than this is spouting some serious conspiracy theory nonsense. At the very least, they're confusing types for categories (e.g. JWICS is a type of network, Layer 3 is a category of network/web).
Anything 'deeper' than this, requires a disconnected device (containing valuable information) that doesn't wake to any form of external signals and is physically secure, like my mom's family photo albums - but that isn't a 'web' at all, is it?
The surface is what we think of as "the internet": the indexed, publicly available portions of the web that you can Google.
The first layer of the "deep web" is those pages on "the internet" that are for a variety of reasons unlisted or restricted-access, rendering them inaccessible to most: members-only, password-protected content, pages that haven't yet been indexed, new pages, and pages that aren't indexed because of DMCA complaints (those in particular can be accessed with a little bit of boolean ingenuity that I'll not go into here).
The second layer consists of the sleazy, clandestine, contraband-type stuff that most people think of when they think of the "deep web", and it trafficks itself through anonymizing software (Tor, e.g.), .onion links, and p2p/p2m networks. This is what most people think of when they think of the "Deep web". It is difficult to access, is creepy, and is therefore notorious. It consists primarily of pirated software and movies, drugs, guns, gambling, offers of contract murder, and illicit pornography. Avoid it. As a wise man once said, "nothing good happens in that part of town after midnight".
The third and fourth layers are where you see the bulk of the traffic, and is where the truly interesting stuff lives. Most information on these layers of the "deep web" is hidden primarily because it is proprietary or classified. The bulk of deep traffic is on alternate and private networks (that is to say, corporate and government traffic). Layer three consists of classified information trafficked on alternative networks such as JWICS, SIPRNet, and NSANet. The fourth layer is internal corporate traffic hosted on private PANs, WANs and LANs, inaccessible unless you're already inside or that network is otherwise connected to the "internet" (the indexed, "googleable" surface web that we use every day).
If you consider the way he defines the third and fourth layers then that's pretty much everything that could be on what one would reasonably term a 'web' and so, excludes individual disconnected devices.
There really can't be anything below Deep Web (though I would happily stand corrected if need be), because it's just not possible. There's no seabed to the Deep Web, sure, but I feel like the existing clearly-defined layers are mutually exclusive and comprehensively exhaustive:
- Layer 1: Internet-facing, Listed, Can be accessed by various non-obvious methods
- Layer 2: Internet-facing, Unlisted, Can be accessed by obvious and non-obvious methods (primarily through enforced anonymity)
- Layer 3: Large(/internet)-scale network but not Internet-facing, Unlisted, Can be accessed only through security flaws or direct access (e.g. via a networked device that is also Internet-facing or through physical access to networked devices or infrastructure)
- Layer 4: Smaller-scale networks and not Internet-facing, Unlisted, Can be accessed only through security flaws (as above)
Anyone who tells you there are deeper webs than this is spouting some serious conspiracy theory nonsense. At the very least, they're confusing types for categories (e.g. JWICS is a type of network, Layer 3 is a category of network/web).
Anything 'deeper' than this, requires a disconnected device (containing valuable information) that doesn't wake to any form of external signals and is physically secure, like my mom's family photo albums - but that isn't a 'web' at all, is it?
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