Dark Web Bust – (CYBR650, Week 7)

You may remember the big crack down on the Silk Road marketplace on the so-called dark web a couple of years ago (Meisner, 2015).  This did not shut down the buying and selling of drugs, stolen credit cards and other items.

The dark web continues to be a place where people can meet to buy and sell under the radar of law enforcement, however law enforcement caught up to a couple of big marketplaces the other day.

This activity continues on the dark web as witnessed by the latest bust of drug bazaars AlphaBay and Hansa Market by U.S. and international law enforcement.  Krebs of Security reports that Dutch investigators took control of Hansa on June 20th (Krebs, 2017).  Brian Krebs reports that AlphaBay and Hansa Market sold a range of black market goods on the dark web, but “especially controlled substances like heroin.”

Krebs wrote that the U.S. Justice Department stated that AlphaBay alone had around 40,000 vendors and around 250,000 listings of illegal drugs.  It was reported that 122 vendors were selling Fentanyl, the dangerous synthetic opioid responsible for many opioid-related deaths in the U.S.

Sources:

Meisner, J. (2015, May 29). Biggest dealer on underground Silk Road given 10 years in prison. Retrieved July 23, 2017, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-silk-road-drug-trafficking-met-20150528-story.html

Krebs, B. (2017, July 20). Krebs on Security. Retrieved July 23, 2017, from https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/07/exclusive-dutch-cops-on-alphabay-refugees/