You wanted darker web?
Last week I poked fun at torture and murder on the dark web. I’m writing on the same topic today, but I’m not laughing. A few months ago I wrote about the apparent over-representation of Australians in all things dark web. This blog touches on that too, but you won’t find me smug and vaguely […]
Waiting in the Red Room
“There will be bacon” It started, as these things are wont to do, on 4Chan or Reddit. A couple of days ago; anonymous people posting anonymously “WHOA! Is this Real??” They gave no explanation, just an onion (i.e. dark web) link. The curious, of course, clicked. And they were greeted with a message: It went […]
If you found it by browsing, it’s probably not dark web
Fun fact: the proper technical term for dark web sites is hidden services. It’s easy to forget what this implies, but as I’ve been researching the past couple of months for a new book, I’ve been reminded of how the dark web is designed to work. When people ask what’s on the dark web, those […]
Putting the party into Crypto
Once it was thought only crazy people wearing tinfoil hats believed their movements were being tracked all the time. Now it is only crazy people who don’t. According to the media, “a new kind of party craze has many Australians scrambling for invitations“. Crypto parties aren’t actually that new, but they are certainly getting more popular. I […]
Mea culpa – Silk Road prosecutors respond to SSBD story
Yesterday I posted Silk Road moderator Peter N’s story. It gained a lot of attention from supporters and haters alike. It also got noticed by someone else. And I’m no longer sure which category they belong in. n I was surprised to receive not only a comment on the blog, but also a personal email […]
Silk Road from the inside: Moderator SSBD tells his story
18 months after being arrested in Brisbane, Australian man Peter N. has been sentenced to time served by a United States judge. That means he is a free man. It must have been disappointing for the prosecution who asked for an extra 10-12 years to add to the 18 months he’s already spent inside.[EDIT: See correction here] In […]
What is it with Aussies and the darknet markets?
Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted earlier this year of being Dread Pirate Roberts, owner of online drugs bazaar Silk Road, is due to be sentenced next Friday. Australians were over-represented as customers of Silk Road (third largest user base by identified country according to FBI documents) and now it seems we will be over-represented at Ross Ulbricht’s […]
DoctorX’s affidavit in support of Silk Road/Ross Ulbricht
Dr Fernando Caudevilla, better known to the darknet market users as DoctorX, has thrown his support behind Ross Ulbricht, convicted of being Silk Road’s Dread Pirate Roberts. DoctorX has provided an affidavit in support of Silk Road and it’s owner.
Special Agent Force, Alpacino and me
Given the readership of my blog has likely devoured the story of the awesomely-named Carl Mark Force IV and his colleague Detective Bridge (you couldn’t make these names up), I won’t rehash it here. Just want to share one of those “didn’t seem significant at the time” stories.
Defcon speaks about the state of Silk Road
For the first time since its original incarnation’s launch in January 2011, Silk Road has been knocked off as the dark market’s leader. It now comes in third. According to Vault 43, Evolution has 15,851 listings, Agora 15,522 and Silk Road a mere 11,025 listings. “While our staff is the largest and most experienced in […]