So you think you know Silk Road? Day 2 of Trivia Quiz
Today is Day 2 of my Silk Road Trivia Quiz as we count down to the tenth anniversary of the shutdown of Silk Road. Very few people got the answer to yesterday’s question, but it was a pretty tough one. I thought today’s would be equally tough, but a much higher proportion got this one. […]
Think you know Silk Road?
Next week is the tenth anniversary of the shutdown of Silk Road and the arrest of its founder, Ross Ulbricht (currently serving life without the possibility of parole). Silk Road was the true OG darknet market that paved the way for all those that came after. It should be remembered as the revolution it was. […]
Tying up Silk Road’s loose ends: Variety Jones
A decade on from the dramatic implosion of Silk Road, a fascinating character waits in the wings for his fate to be decided – Roger Clark, the man behind the Variety Jones moniker and the instigator of the now infamous murder-for-hire plots. Or was he? It’s closing in on ten years since Silk Road shut […]
DNM Vendors, have your say
Below is a callout to DNM vendors to share their views about DNMs and the perceptions of others about what you do. I know some of the independent researchers involved in this initiative personally, the others by reputation, and they have my full confidence that they will pull out all the stops to maintain confidentiality and […]
The Fall of Atlantis – a Moderator tells
“Atlantis admins shut down the site and ran away with the coins. It’s the truth.” – Cicero, Moderator of Atlantis Marketplace forum A little under six months ago – not long after they opened shop – I conducted the first in-depth interview with online drug barons Loera and Vladimir, founders of Atlantis Marketplace. The two […]
Interview with a (virtual) drug tsar
“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. […]
Competition for (black) market share hotting up
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 […]
Red Pill, Blue Pill or No Pill?
The most successful Australian vendor on Silk Road has conned their customers out of tens of thousands of dollars Aussie vendor EnterTheMatrix had a simple and effective business model. Purchase Australia’s most popular party drugs from overseas vendors on Silk Road, add a 400% markup and resell them to Aussie Silk Road customers. Although there were […]
When a journo becomes the story
Last Wednesday I went along to sit in on the plea hearing of the first major Australian ‘Silk Road’ case, expecting to perhaps get a blog post out of it. I never expected what would come next. The court heard evidence of 12 parcels containing drugs that had been intercepted between 27 March and 29 June 2012. […]
Who’s got it in for the Silk Road?
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. 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 […]