Archive for the ‘Dark Web’ Category

Interview with a (virtual) drug tsar

Posted: April 26, 2013 in Dark Web, Drugs
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“We will be an adversary not to be trifled with. We have big plans for Atlantis, and we’re here to stay.”.

As online drugs marketplace Silk Road sustains blows from an ongoing attack its owner says “appears to be DoS in nature,” the forums are awash with queries, rumours and speculation about newcomer, Atlantis Marketplace.  Is it responsible for the attacks on Silk Road? Is it a better, more stable alternative? Who runs it? Is it just one great big honeypot for law enforcement agencies to gather intelligence on drug dealers?

Newcomer Atlantis Marketplace aims to cannibalise Silk Road's market share

Newcomer Atlantis Marketplace aims to cannibalise Silk Road’s market share

There is something a little bizarre about chatting to directors (yes, they have a board) of an underground black market about their company model.  But that’s what I did last night when two of the founders of Atlantis, ‘Loera’ and ‘Vladimir’ answered my questions in real time (over encrypted chat, naturally).

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Competition for (black) market share hotting up

Posted: April 23, 2013 in Dark Web, Silk Road
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With the media reporting that internet drug dealing is on the rise, it’s no great surprise that new marketplaces have started popping up wanting a piece of the action.  Most of these seem to be wannabes with no real hope of making a dent into the big boy’s market share.  But a couple seem determined to provide real competition to Silk Road, the undisputed market leader with 7,053 drug listings.

Online black market places are competing for a share of the profits

Online illicit drug marketplaces are competing for a share of the profits

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Are there modern-day Gladitorial fights on the Darkweb?

Posted: March 21, 2013 in Dark Web, Uncategorized
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One of the most pervasive urban myths on the darkweb is that you can find underground rings of Django Unchained-style fights to the death. Some of the believers claim they give millionaire members the opportunity to attend such fights; others say there are live webcams broadcasting them, which can be accessed for a fee.

Can you watch this on a webcam?

Can you watch this on a webcam?

I’ve trawled the Onion, far beyond what’s available on the Hidden Wiki, and have yet to uncover any evidence at all.  Yet, like all urban myths, those who wish to believe insist that its true.  There’s one here  for example:

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Who’s got it in for the Silk Road?

Posted: January 23, 2013 in Dark Web, Silk Road
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Ever since the suspected DDoS attack in November, the admins at Silk Road have been combating a number of different scams and attacks on the site.

The Quickbuy Scam (see below) - this vendor's image has been hacked with a fake bitcoin address

The Quickbuy Scam (see below) – this vendor’s image has been hacked with a fake bitcoin address

It’s hard to tell whether this is a concerted attack by one group determined to piss the website off or each one is separate. The most pervasive ones have been:

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An identity crisis on the darkweb

Posted: January 15, 2013 in Dark Web
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Unless you’ve been under a rock, you would be aware that there are thriving underground black markets on the darkweb, offering everything from drugs to shrunken heads for sale.  Many of these markets offer the purchaser a new identity.

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I figured if I was going to be anyone it might as well be the Mother of Dragons

The difference between buying drugs online and buying a fake ID is that the purchaser of the latter is forced to lose some anonymity.  Drug purchasers can use a fake name and a ‘drop’ address, such as a vacant house where they can access the letterbox.  When purchasing a licence or passport the purchaser can take the same precautions but must, of course, provide a photograph.  So it’s no surprise that potential buyers are wary of anonymous sellers on black market websites.  Most people assume the sellers to be scammers, whilst the more paranoid are concerned that law enforcement is creating a honeypot.

One such seller on a marketplace on the darkweb, frustrated at being stonewalled by suspicious potential purchasers, made me a startling offer – he would provide me a NSW driver licence for free to use in an article I’ve been researching on identity theft.  An offer too good not to take up.

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Common misconceptions about child porn and sex offenders

Posted: January 4, 2013 in Dark Web
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When researching my story The New Underbelly, I wound up, as you do, with reams of information, the vast majority of which didn’t make it to the article due to space constraints or because it wasn’t what my editor asked for.

I briefly quoted Dr Bill Glaser (and I hope I did not misrepresent him in any way) but our exchange was significantly longer and I’d like to share some things I learned about child porn and contact child sex offenders.

Whilst I did visit many of the sites mentioned in my article – including some of the gateways to the child porn sites – I did not download any child abuse material, i.e. I did not view any pictures or videos.  I have no interest in seeing such stuff for journalism purposes or otherwise.

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Things you didn’t know you could buy online – shopping on the Dark Web

Posted: August 19, 2012 in Dark Web
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So, we all know you can buy drugs online, but Silk Road is not the only marketplace on the dark web.  Here’s a few other things you might not have realised you can have for a price.

 

Redecorating?  For $1500 you can buy yourself a genuine shrunken human head.  This, I am assured, is $3500 less than the regular price (bet you didn’t know there was a regular price), but you get the head you’re given, no special requests.   The heads are for decoration; the seller is an artist and “creating them is something of a hobby to me”. (more…)

Conversation with a hitman (or not)

Posted: August 3, 2012 in Dark Web, Hitmen, Internet Scams, Silk Road
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This image is probably very copyright to Sony and I’m sorry, but it is really really hard to find an appropriate image. Please don’t fine me, Sony

Today the owner of Silk Road announced the closure of its sister site, the weapons-dealing Armory.  The reason was not heat from law enforcement or negative press, it was simply that the site was not profitable and members complained that many listings were scams.

There are dozens of black market sites selling all manner of things on the Dark Web, but only Silk Road seems to have any real commercial success.  The closure of the Armory raises the question of whether it is the business model or the products that cause a market to fail.  Complaints of scams riddle the dark web and the online black market might not be as successful and prolific as some fear.  Is there something about drugs that inherently make them the only truly viable anonymous online black market product?

As I delved into the Dark Web I noticed a plethora of advertisements for contract killers. I decided to try and engage one of the more prolific advertisers, an organisation that claims to have many successful hits, to kill a fictitious ex-husband.  Here’s what transpired:

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Why proposed internet security measures will do more harm than good

Posted: July 12, 2012 in Dark Web
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Last month I published a piece in The Age about the ‘dark web’ – sites that can only be accessed through anonymity software.

The picture someone decided was totally appropriate and non-hysterical

What became lost beneath graphics of demons emerging from computers was a line I wrote in response to proposed legislative changes that could lead to the web history of any device connected to the internet being logged and retained for up to two years for law enforcement purposes:

“But such measures will have no effect on those who conduct their criminal activities on the Dark Web because nothing is logged — there is no history to keep. And some argue such measures will cause more people to seek out anonymity services — the same services that provide access to the Dark Web.”

In researching that article, I spoke to many people – university professors, a representative of Tor and law enforcement – who agreed that the measures proposed by Roxon are a ‘feel-good bandaid’ rather than an effective tool to catch criminals.

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Why politicians and law enforcement should embrace Silk Road

Posted: June 7, 2012 in Dark Web, Drugs, Silk Road
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Online drugs marketplaces are far better than the current alternative.

The author outside a perfectly innocent restaurant

Despite what certain newspapers and ‘current affairs’ shows would have you believe, the vast majority of drug users – even chronic drugs users – are happy, non-violent people who hold down regular jobs.  They don’t take drugs because there’s something lacking in their lives.  They take them because they enjoy them and because most recreational drugs don’t put the imbiber out of control like, say, alcohol.  And are far less likely to kill users than, say, tobacco.

The so-called ‘war on drugs’ has been a complete failure.  This is the opinion of pretty much all the people who ought to know – drug researchers, health professionals, former premiers, a former national police chief and former Defence Department chief Paul Barratt.  It seems the only people who don’t think so are politicians who need to appear ‘tough on crime’ to procure the votes of shock jock listeners who believe that all drug users are junkies ready to steal their wallet for their next fix.  Oh, and criminals.  Criminals don’t want prohibition lifted.

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