After LockBit Takedown, Police Try To Sow Doubt In Cybercrime Community
On New Year’s Eve people in Moscow spotted what looked like an up-and-coming tech startup projecting its logo onto the sides of various buildings. But in fact it was a guerrilla marketing stunt promoting OMG, a darknet marketplace selling heroin, mephedrone, marijuana, and everything else in between. Prosecutors are now charging Hydra operators and administrators with running a criminal trading platform, participating in the unauthorized purchase and sale of narcotics and commercial money laundering.
Nonetheless, the stark outlier in product origins of seized goods and product offers on dark markets is the US. Around 5% of dark market counterfeits were listed as originating from the USA, while only 0.4% of goods seized at borders come from the US. Again, such a discrepancy might be due to biased expectations by law enforcement, as searches are sometimes based on shipment origins (Männistö et al., 2021). Thus, border seizures might miss counterfeits originating from countries suggested by dark markets, such as the US. For example, Tobacco, pharmaceuticals, metals, electronics, and accessories (e.g., sunglasses) could be scanned for counterfeits when originating from the US. Similarly, cosmetics seem to originate from Austria more frequently, and pharmaceuticals from Australia.
Understanding the Current Situation: Why Are All the Darknet Markets Down?
The darknet has long been a haven for various illegal activities, from the sale of illicit drugs to stolen data and hacking services. Recently, however, many users have been left wondering, why are all the darknet markets down? This article delves into potential reasons for this widespread outage.
The anonymity of the dark web is also a big benefit for whistleblowers submitting sensitive information to news outlets. Some mainstream publications such as the New York Times maintain a presence on the dark web for just such tips, and other publications around the world maintain a presence to circumvent government-imposed internet censorship. For example, during the Russian-Ukraine conflict, citizens used dark web versions of social media to share information when traditional access was blocked. Darknet marketplaces have disappeared as a result of increasingly sophisticated and successful law enforcement operations, including clandestinely taking over sites for extended periods to gather evidence on vendors and buyers.
As a part of the attacks mentioned above, there was the unexpected seizure of a popular news website on darknet by law enforcement agencies. Deepdotweb was the biggest and the most popular such site in the English language internet and besides news and tutorials it contained links to DNMs. The portal earned money from the DNMs for each buyer who came from links on Deepdotweb, which is why they were accused of complicity in money laundering. After that, other similar information portals shut themselves down over fears of arrest. The second core project, and maybe even more important than Eternos, is the new darknet–- AspaNET. The Hydra crew is probably powerful and rich enough to create their own darknet, as even smaller hacker organizations managed to do so.
1. Law Enforcement Crackdowns
When the Silk Road was in operation, you could search for it on Tor and get redirected to a signup screen requiring a username and password. Numerous U.S. agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the IRS Criminal Investigation and others were involved in the operation, they said. “The seizures carried out today were preceded by extensive investigations that have been conducted…since August 2021 and in which several US authorities were involved,” the German federal police announced.
The Hydra crew initially planned to launch new projects in September 2020, but in June they postponed it for an unspecified time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the events in the English-speaking sphere of TOR during the last 18 months, current instability among DNMs and uncertainty among darknet users, it could be an opportune time for a new player to take the stage. Now that AlphaBay’s ex-administrator DeSnake has relaunched the famous darknet marketplace, is WHM’s retirement the push he needed to bring AlphaBay back to the level they were in their glory days? The ease of creating a dark market adds to its lucrative appeal, particularly if one intends to exit scam.
Prices for harvested data on 2Easy are comparatively cheaper than the bots found on the Genesis market; some logs go for as little as $5. The data for sale on 2Easy comes from over 600,000 compromised devices, most of which have infostealing malware installed on them. In the dark web, Russian-speaking criminals tended not to take actions that would harm or target former Soviet Union countries.
One of the primary reasons that darknet markets experience outages is increased pressure from law enforcement agencies around the world. Key factors include:
- Coordinated raids: Authorities often collaborate across borders to dismantle these illegal operations.
- Seizure of domains: Law enforcement can seize the domains that host these markets, effectively taking them offline.
- Arrests of key players: The capture of administrators and operators can lead to market closures.
2. Internal Market Issues
Darknet markets are also vulnerable to internal problems that can lead to outages:
- Scams and theft: If users feel that their funds or data are at risk, markets may shut down voluntarily.
- Technical failures: Just like any online platform, darknet markets can suffer from server failures or software bugs.
- Market competition: A saturated market can lead to instability as newer markets vie for users.
3. Escrowing Problems
Escrow systems are critical in darknet transactions for ensuring trust between buyers and sellers. If escrow services face issues:
- Funds locked in escrow: Problems in these systems can lock funds, causing market operations to halt.
- Loss of buyer confidence: If users don’t trust the escrow system, they may abandon the market entirely.
- Among other things, authorities said the market was being used for criminal transactions, money laundering and abundant sales of illegal narcotics.
- There are many ways criminals can quickly produce dark markets, with the easiest being to simply buy a pre-built marketplace template—all the customer has to do is replace any place-holder text and install the software to their servers.
- Using the solver as microservice in our architecture, we could fully crawl the marketplace 9 times until it shut down.
- Even if you aren’t perusing darknet markets, true anonymous browsing will keep you safe from prying eyes — such as governments and your ISP.
4. Technological Factors
The dependency on technology is profound in the functioning of darknet markets. Instabilities in technology can result in shutdown:
- Server crashes: Cyber attacks or data breaches can compromise their servers.
- Network issues: If the networks they rely on experience outages, markets can go offline.
5. The Evolution of the Darknet
As the darknet evolves, markets can disappear and reappear. New trends and technologies can lead to:
- Shift to decentralized platforms: Users may prefer decentralized solutions that are less susceptible to takedowns.
- Emergence of new markets: New entrants may displace existing markets, leading them to go offline.
FAQs About Darknet Market Outages
Q1: How can I access darknet markets once they come back online?
To access darknet markets, you’ll typically need specific software like Tor and additional security measures.
Q2: Are all darknet markets permanently down?
No, many markets may temporarily go offline due to the reasons discussed but can come back with time.
Q3: What should I do if a market I trust goes down?
Look for announcements on forums, and be cautious about transitioning to new markets without thorough research.
Q4: How do I ensure my safety while using darknet markets?
- Use reliable VPNs: Protect your identity while browsing.
- Research markets: Check forums for user reviews and feedback.
Conclusion
Understanding why are all the darknet markets down involves recognizing the multifaceted reasons behind their outages. From law enforcement action to internal issues and market evolution, various factors contribute to their frequent shutdowns. Staying informed and vigilant is crucial for users navigating these complex online environments.
