Policing The Darknet: Leading Cybercrime Agencies Go Dark
Understanding Law Enforcement’s Focus on Darknet Markets
In recent years, the rise of darknet markets has drawn significant attention from law enforcement agencies worldwide. These underground platforms facilitate the sale of illegal goods and services, prompting a coordinated response from various police forces.
In our collection, one hundred and thirteen authors have written forty-nine articles. The rate of documents per author is 0.434, and the number of authors per document is 2.31. 12 indicates that two authors with six documents ranked at the top, David Décary-Hétu and Thomas Holt, accounted for 12.2%. While Rasmus Munksgaard ranks second with five articles (10.2%), both Jin Lee and Jakob Demant are next ranked with three documents per each (6.1%). While five authors published two articles (4.1%), the rest of those authors released one document at a time. A source is a journal article published in one or more documents in our bibliographic collection.
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of our Cybercrime Underground the cybercrime series discussed some of the concepts and definitions around cybercrime, and how cybercriminals collaborate in cybercrime forums in buying and selling malicious tools and services. This latest report in our cybercrime series will provide a glimpse of the darknet markets where cybercriminals buy and sell data which have likely been stolen directly by compromising victim computer systems or by the result of a large database compromise. This blog focuses on explaining what darknet markets are, common payment model used, the type of digital data being bought and sold in the darknet markets and their typical costs. The objective of this blog is not to provide an exhaustive list of all the products and services being sold in the darknet markets but to shed light on how cybercriminals are utilizing the darknet markets to trade with impunity.
While it included some innocuous listings such as health supplements, the majority of vendors and most of the sales were related to illicit drugs. Silk Road not only aggregated thousands of drug vendors, it created a user-friendly interface that resembled a clear-net shopping website. Ulbricht was eventually arrested by US law enforcement and Silk Road was seized and taken offline.
To reduce the risk, darknet market customers may rent a post box or use an address they don’t own but can access. Organisations should follow industry standards on securing data and implement security technologies to prevent cyber attacks and reduce the risk of data being stolen and traded in the darknet markets. Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation security platform provides a holistic solution to protect the digital way of life by safely enabling applications and preventing known and unknown threats across the network, cloud and endpoints. Another type of listing which is quite regular in the darknet markets include but are not limited to templates of passports, driving licenses, SSNs, bank statements, utility bills, credit cards, tax statements and invoice receipts of different vendors. Figure 8 is an example of a sample of an Australian passport template which has the same passport ID details but has different photos of individuals.
Using alter egos, he boasted online about his exploits as a darknet drug trafficker, offered advice to other drug dealers and even publishing a short story describing his criminal activities and his strategies for evading law enforcement. Fourthly, in terms of documents, in this paper, the author conducted an SLR combined with bibliometric analysis to evaluate and visualize the research articles and peer-reviewed papers published relating to darknet-based criminalizing in the last decade. With only myself as a burgeoning scholar in the field, the scope of the data collection is to look for the WoS system rather than integrate others due to human resource capacity. I only collected papers from five different digital repositories (ESCI, CPCI-SSH, SSCI, SCI-EXPANDED, and A&HCI) and limited my search to papers published in English. Therefore, the author should have included some papers outside these digital databases, particularly for publications on technical approaches. However, my extensive literature review provides a detailed overview of the current research on darknet-related criminals.
Following Hydra’s closure in April 2022, Bitzlato continued to facilitate transactions for growing Russia-connected darknet markets, including BlackSprut, OMG! AlphaBay operated as a hidden service on the “Tor” network, and utilized cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Monero and Ethereum in order to hide the locations of its underlying servers and the identities of its administrators, moderators, and users. Based on law enforcement’s investigation of AlphaBay, authorities believe the site was also used to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from illegal transactions on the website.
It is yet to be seen how the Russian dark web community will respond to this significant loss. However, reputations are difficult to maintain in the dark net ecosystem – harder still if there are questions regarding whether your account may now be in the control of law enforcement. It is possible that Hydra admins – or unconnected individuals – will seek to create a new market targeting primarily Russian customers, although it may take some time to re-establish the status that Hydra enjoyed for so long. Today’s actions mark the third time in which a virtual asset service provider has been sanctioned in its entirety. OFAC’s press release highlights the connection between Garantex and the previously-sanctioned exchanges – Suex and Chatex – all of which operated out of the same building in Moscow, Russia. As detailed in OFAC’s press release accompanying today’s sanction announcement, the agency identified “approximately $8 million in ransomware proceeds that transited Hydra’s virtual currency accounts, including from the Ryuk, Sodinokibi, and Conti ransomware variants”.
By doing this, the figure will allow academics, policymakers, and practitioners better understand the state of the art and discover the linkage among authors in this field. The Biblioshiny allowed analysis of four main areas for the author’s contributions. One is to focus on the author’s production over time, their most relevant publications and cited time. Two is to look for the author’s most relevant affiliations at the time of publishing. Three is to compare the author’s countries based on three main criteria (corresponding author’s country, country scientific production, and most cited countries). It also allowed for analysis of the scale of the collaboration network between authors, affiliations, and countries.
How Many Police Agencies Are Going After Darknet Markets?
The answer to how many police agencies are going after darknet markets is complex. Numerous jurisdictions are involved, but the precise number can vary over time. Factors influencing this include:
- International Collaboration: Many countries work together through agencies such as Europol and Interpol.
- Regional Efforts: Local and state police agencies also participate in combating darknet crime.
- Task Forces: Specialized task forces may be established to target specific darknet activities.
As of now, hundreds of police agencies globally are engaged in operations against darknet markets, with many participating in joint operations. These can include:
Notable Operations and Initiatives
Several high-profile operations have aimed at dismantling key darknet marketplaces:
- Operation Disruption: In 2019, multiple law enforcement agencies coordinated to close several darknet marketplaces.
- Operation SaboTor: This initiative focused on the administration and operators of illegal platforms across Europe and the US.
- Operation Hercules: Targeted sellers and buyers of illegal narcotics, leading to significant arrests.
Challenges Faced by Law Enforcement
Law enforcement agencies face various challenges in their fight against darknet markets, including:
- Anonymity of Users: The use of technologies like Tor makes it difficult to trace individuals.
- Cryptocurrency Transactions: Payments made in cryptocurrencies complicate financial tracking.
- Rapid Market Evolution: New markets frequently emerge as existing ones are shut down.
FAQs
What types of crimes are associated with darknet markets?
Crimes linked to darknet markets often include drug trafficking, weapons sales, identity theft, and illegal services such as hacking.
How do police agencies gather intelligence on darknet markets?
Agencies utilize advanced digital forensics, undercover operations, and collaboration with cybersecurity experts to gather intelligence.
Can darknet markets be completely eliminated?
- If you’re interested in being at the forefront of defense against cyber attacks and online threats to national security, consider the many career pathways in IT and cybersecurity offered by the Tulane School of Professional Advancement.
- In the order, FinCEN determined that Bitzlato is a financial institution operating outside of the United States that is of primary money laundering concern in connection with Russian illicit finance.
- Stolen identities are in big demand in darknet markets as they allow cybercriminals to conduct fraud using real identities of individuals who could have been victims to phishing/malware attacks or organizations holding PII data of their customers getting breached.
- The tactics used by law enforcement vary from country to country, with some taking a more aggressive approach while others rely on more covert tactics.
- One is to show the full network, and the other is to narrow it down for further analysis.
While significant efforts can dismantle major markets, the inherent nature of these platforms allows new ones to arise, making complete elimination challenging.
The Future of Law Enforcement and Darknet Markets
As technology advances, so too does the sophistication of both darknet markets and law enforcement responses. Agencies are investing in:
- Training and Resources: Continuous education on new technologies and techniques.
- International Cooperation: Strengthening partnerships among countries to tackle global challenges.
- Public Awareness Campaigns: Informing the public about the dangers and illicit nature of darknet transactions.
In conclusion, the concerted efforts of various police agencies to combat darknet markets illustrate a growing understanding of the complexities of cybercrime. While the exact number of agencies involved may fluctuate, their commitment remains steadfast in making these markets less accessible and reducing illegal activities occurring within them.
