THELOGICALINDIAN - The FBI alive in affiliation with its European ally has addled addition draft adjoin darknet markets DNMs On this break its a decidedly low draft as account website Deepdotweb has become the latest victim of its boring war on drugs On May 7 both its clearnet and darknet domains were bedeviled and the operators arrested and slapped with money bed-making charges
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The War on Drugs Becomes the War on Information
Not agreeable with waging a war on drugs, law administration (LE) accept set their architect on media platforms that address on darknet activity. Earlier today, Deepdotweb became inaccessible, its homepage replaced by a access apprehension that’s become all too accustomed to darknet bazaar users. The abeyance generated shockwaves that accept resonated way above the darknet community, appearance the aboriginal time that admiral accept targeted the columnist in this manner. Deepdotweb (DDW) was by far the best accepted clearnet ability for accessing links to DNMs, afterward the cease of subreddit r/darknetmarkets aftermost year.
Two Israeli suspects were arrested in affiliation with the bust, as able-bodied as individuals from France, Germany, Holland, and Brazil. The arrests were the aftereffect of two months of investigation, and access aural canicule of the ringleaders of Wall Street Market (WSM) being arrested in Germany, calm with a WSM adjudicator from Brazil. Deepdotweb is appear to accept fabricated millions of dollars in BTC from barometer links to DNMs. It is unclear, though, how this action ability aggregate a crime, accustomed that darknet markets are not in themselves illegal, and advertise a array of wares, some of which are altogether legal.
The money bed-making statute cited in the admission apprehension on DDW –18 USC 1956(h) – suggests that LE has approved a ambagious way to shut bottomward a armpit it believes to be complicit in overextension advice that enables bodies to admission darknet markets. If so, it is a move evocative of Al Capone’s arrest and incarceration for tax evasion, rather than for gang-related activities.
The Thin End of the Wedge
Numerous freelance reporters formed for Deepdotweb, accoutrement a advanced ambit of capacity including the Tor network, cryptocurrency markets, opsec and privacy. The site’s cease is a above loss, not alone to its staff, but to its abundant readership, abounding of whom had no absorption in darknet markets. With DDW gone and its ringleaders abaft bars, operators of added darknet new sites will be attractive over their amateur nervously. Despite breaking no laws by accouterment links to DNMs, webmasters may be aflutter that clandestine LE approach could see their armpit shuttered and abandon concise due to some aerial infringement.
On Dread (dreadditevelidot.onion), the Reddit-like appointment for DNMs which operates on the darknet, the account of DDW’s annihilation was the primary affair of altercation today. “I feel TPTB [the admiral that be] are alive on a big operation for this summer,” speculated one commenter. “It all adds up to that. They accept been testing the amnion with DDoS attacks and seizures. Now that they apperceive the DDoS attacks can attenuate the markets after abundant done to anticipate it, they’ll alpha shutting bottomward the sources of advice to accumulate bodies from actuality able to active the association already the absolute OP starts.” They continued:
One Down, a Dozen to Go
If the FBI’s absorbed was to bind the breeze of advice and trusted links arch to darknet markets, the bureau has got its assignment cut out. Despite Deepdotweb’s stature, it was alone one of abounding conduits arch to the darknet’s capital marketplaces. Other aggregators of DNM links accommodate Darkwebnews, Darkdotnet, and Dark.fail.
As the bent complaints are apparent in the advancing days, added capacity about the affairs surrounding DDW’s annihilation will emerge. One approach actuality floated on Dread is that one of the bankrupt Wall Street Market moderators was additionally alive for Deepdotweb. Wherever the accuracy may lie, it is axiomatic that the war adjoin darknet markets has now entered a new phase.
What are your thoughts on the abeyance of Deepdotweb? Let us apperceive in the comments area below.
Images address of Shutterstock.
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