• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Jobs
  • Career
    • Cyber Security Training
    • Work from Home
    • Cyber Security Analyst
    • Remote Work – Six Ways to Keep Your Data Safe When Working Remotely
  • Field Guide
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Deals
  • News
AskCyberSecurity.com

AskCyberSecurity.com

Cyber Security News & Information

  • Home
  • Data Privacy
    • Gamers
    • Government Cyber Security
      • Legislation
      • Standards
        • What are the risks of computer security?
        • Medical Cyber Security
    • Social Media
  • Security
    • Data Breaches
    • Scams
    • Malware
  • Software
    • Apps
    • Web Browsers
  • Glossary
    • Cyber Security Acronyms
  • About Ask Cyber Security
    • Authors
    • Contact Us
  • VPN
    • How Do I Know If My VPN is Working?
    • Best Free VPN iPhone
    • Why Use a VPN?
    • NordVPN vs IPVanish
    • Private Internet Access Download
    • Best VPN for Streaming
      • TikTok VPN
    • VPN Porn
    • Computer Security Software – What You Really Need
  • Tutorials
  • ChatGPT
    • Does ChatGPT Save Data?
AskCyber Home » News » Government Cyber Security » The Dark Web Exposed, AlphaBay Taken Down

The Dark Web Exposed, AlphaBay Taken Down

2017-07-20 by Max

The Dark Web is a mysterious place, a secretive part of the internet where anything can happen. Hosted on peer-to-peer servers using encryption schemes, pass-codes and gated access the Dark Web exists beyond the internet. While the Dark Web is often confused with the Deep Web, the two are not the same thing. The Deep Web is parts of the internet that are not indexed by search engines and other services. The Dark Web on the other hand is a seedier version of the internet that uses services like Tor to mask its activities from outside surveillance. The Dark Web is constantly being probed by law enforcement agencies the world over, but actually making any progress can be difficult.

The entire thing is not hosted on traditional servers, but rather as a massive peer-to-peer network. If you’ve ever used a service like LimeWire or BitTorrent, then you’re familiar with the concept. Dark Web users would use a program like Tor, which uses its own proprietary .onion encryption scheme to access other similar “servers.” People using this service mask their traffic from most forms of observation, the encryption is such that an ISP monitoring it cannot see what you’re doing. This provides the draw of the Dark Web, a place where a user can become more anonymous than they were before. Accessing the Dark Web is not a criminal offense, and neither is acting as a host for others. Obviously, this only applies so long as you don’t engage in any criminal behavior.

Websites are normally monitored by users, ISP’s, server providers and law enforcement agencies for any illegal content. Any illicit content risks legal action, so websites are careful to monitor themselves. You’d never find a seller on Amazon peddling methamphetamine or marijuana but on the Dark Web there are websites dedicated to it. All the unsavory elements of the internet find a home in the Dark Web, beyond drug dealers there are legitimate threats to national security such as terrorist groups and criminal elements. This is why law enforcement agencies spend so much of their time and money trying to break their way into these secretive places.

Actually getting into the Dark Web usually requires that someone else guide you in, someone to personally vouch for you, to guarantee that you won’t expose the whole system. To this end law enforcement tries to get known users to validate their accounts, or provide access to the computers acting as servers. When this happens, law enforcement has a variety of options at their disposal. Infecting the host computer with malware is a common tactic, when other users connect to it they are infected as they access the server. This malware maps out the network, ferreting out information and feeding it back to its parent organization. They may install more destructive malware, programs similar to the WannaCry attacks or NotPetya. This programs brick the computer it infects, turning it into a very expensive paperweight. The reason for these attacks is that even with a computer infiltrated, the owner may be security minded enough to mask their location and personal information. So destroying the computer is their only option. The other reason for this is because while an agency can’t prove exactly who is accessing these illegal websites, as they may be unable to actually gather any information, so destroying their device is their only recourse.

A notorious Dark Web site, AlphaBay, was taken down in a massive operation by law enforcement agencies earlier this week. The details of the operation are still being released, as it appears to be an ongoing effort by the agencies involved. AlphaBay was an underground marketplace, where everything was for sale, for the right price. Shoppers could by talent, programs, drugs, guns, poisonous chemicals, personal information as well as counterfeit documents. The founder, Canadian Alexandre Cazes, was arrested and imprisoned but he committed suicide soon after his incarceration. Authorities seized his and his wife’s assets, which included their home in Thailand as well as a hotel and millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

AlphaBay had over 200,000 active users when it was shuttered by the authorities, much larger than their previous catch: Silk Road. Silk Road had only 14,000 active users when its founder was arrested. Dutch authorities also took down Hansa, another marketplace similar to AlphaBay in June. AlphaBay has been linked to a multitude of opioid overdoses and deaths in the United States, as well as other crimes related to the goods it provided. All around the world law enforcement agencies have moved to crack down on illicit Dark Web sites, as their toolset evolves the net draws ever tighter around the shadowy underside of the internet. Only time will tell if the Dark Web is done, or will its users find ever more clever ways to evade detection?

Filed Under: Government Cyber Security

About Max

Max is a Data Privacy Coordinator at a major global law firm and a science fiction author residing in the Philadelphia area. He has been writing for https://www.askcybersecurity.com since early 2017.


LinkedInTwitterFacebook

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

We Don't Share or Sell Your Info

Web Browsers

Where Are My Saved Passwords in Chrome?

Google Removes 70 Malicious Browser Add-ons from Chrome Web Store

Firefox 75 Reports Your Browser Settings to Mozilla

Categories

Cyber Security Field Guide

Computer Security While TravelingGet Our Cyber Security Field Guide - Available on Amazon!

Recent Posts

Security Marketing Manager – Remote

Sr. Associate, Cybersecurity Architect – Pfizer

Strategic Customer Success Manager – Cybersecurity – Opportunity for Working Remotely

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

ISU Cybersecurity Leader Job Opening

Cyber Security News

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

… [Read More...] about Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

… [Read More...] about Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

… [Read More...] about IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

… [Read More...] about National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

More Cyber Security News

Tags

amazon Android Apple bitcoin China chrome CISA credit card DarkSide DHS DOJ Equifax Europe Facebook facial recognition FBI Firefox FTC games GDPR Google Government hacker identity theft India iPhone Iran IRS LinkedIn Microsoft North Korea PayPal phishing phishing email ransomware REvil Russia smartphone T-Mobile TikTok tutorial VPN WhatsApp WiFi Windows

Government

CBP Looks to Access Airline Passenger Data

FTC Releases Cyber Threat Video Playlist

Malware Found on US Government Funded Phones

UK NCA Reaches Out to Youth to Deter Cybercrimes

More Posts from this Category

Footer

Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • Authors
  • Newsletter Signup
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Search

Why Use a VPN?

NordVPN vs IPVanish VPN Review

NAVIGATION

  • Data Breaches
  • Data Privacy
  • Gamers
  • Scams
  • Malware

MEMBER NJCCIC

New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell

STAY CONNECTED

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Copyright © 2023 · AskCyberSecurity.com · METRONY, LLC

Go to mobile version