How Many Police Agencies Are Going After Darknet Markets?

In the weeks and months that followed, there was much speculation about what had happened to the owners of Evolution and where they had gone with the stolen funds. Services like Garantex make cryptocurrency-based crime profitable by giving cybercriminals a way to exchange illicitly obtained cryptocurrency for cash, and like Hydra, also represented a possible avenue for sanctions evasion by designated Russian entities. We commend OFAC for its designation of Garantex, and consequently preventing compliant cryptocurrency businesses from doing business with the exchange. Thinking beyond the sanctions implications, the removal of one of the largest illicit services on the dark web represents a huge win for both law enforcement and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. “Nevertheless, it is unlikely that this will prevent new shops being created on the dark web in the long term.” Europol said the operation seized more than €50.8 million ($53.4 million) in cash and virtual currencies, as well as 850kg of drugs — including over 258 kg of amphetamines, 43kg of cocaine, 43kg of MDMA and over 10 kg of LSD and ecstasy pills — alongside 117 firearms.

Genesis, A Dark Web Marketplace, Shut Down In Global Operation

Darknet markets, also known as cryptomarkets, are online marketplaces where illegal goods and services are sold using cryptocurrencies. These markets have become increasingly popular in recent years, and as a result, law enforcement agencies around the world have taken notice. But just how many police agencies are going after darknet markets?

Andy Greenberg On How ‘Tracers In The Dark’ Found The Dark Web’s Worst Criminals

International Cooperation

One of the key challenges in combating darknet markets is the international nature of these operations. Criminals can easily set up shop in one country and sell their wares to customers in another, making it difficult for any single law enforcement agency to take them down. This has led to increased cooperation between police agencies around the world, with organizations such as Europol and Interpol playing a key role in coordinating efforts to disrupt darknet marketplaces.

Europol

International

Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, has been actively involved in efforts to combat darknet markets. In 2019, the agency announced the takedown of Wall Street Market, one of the largest darknet markets at the time, in a joint operation with law enforcement agencies from several European countries. Europol also played a key role in the takedown of the AlphaBay and Hansa Market darknet markets in 2017.

Interpol

Search

Interpol, the international police organization, has also been involved in efforts to combat darknet markets. In 2019, the organization announced the creation of a new unit dedicated to fighting cybercrime, including darknet markets. Interpol has also been involved in several high-profile operations targeting darknet markets, including the takedown of the Silk Road 2.0 marketplace in 2014.

• People use the darknet,Footnote 1 the most popular being The Onion Router, known as Tor (Demant et al. 2018a, b; Lacson and Jones 2016; Martin 2014a, 2014b).
• Genesis specialised in the sale of digital products, especially “browser fingerprints” harvested from computers infected with malicious software, said Louise Ferrett, an analyst at British cybersecurity firm Searchlight Cyber.
• These leads allow U.S. and international law enforcement agencies to identify darknet drug vendors and buyers, resulting in a series of coordinated, but separate, law enforcement investigations, resulting in the statistics announced today.
• As a result of the Hansa takedown, law enforcement identified buyers, vendors, moderators, administrators, and other facilitators throughout the world.

With so many different groups operating in the space and most heavily rely on acronyms, we’ve compiled a list of the prominent international government, intelligence, and law enforcement organizations that we’ve seen mentioned in significant operations carried out on the darknet. The table below includes their common and formal names, as well as the countries they primarily operate in. While Russian-language markets are well known for serving only Russians, experts say that’s not the dominant darknet market language globally. “We have observed various types of fraud focus on specific regions – for example, drug sales, carding and malware development,” which is localized for that region, and in those cases, the markets often use the local language.” In early 2022, Russian authorities disrupted major carder markets selling stolen payment card data, including UniCC, Ferum Shop, Sky-Fraud and Trump’s Dumps, aka TDStore.

National Efforts

In addition to international cooperation, many countries have also taken their own national efforts to combat darknet markets. In the United States, for example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have both been involved in efforts to take down darknet marketplaces. In 2017, the FBI announced the takedown of the AlphaBay and Hansa Market darknet markets, which at the time were two of the largest in the world.

Other countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, have also taken action against darknet markets. In 2019, German authorities announced the takedown of the Wall Street Market, one of the largest darknet markets at the time. And in 2018, Dutch authorities announced the takedown of the Hydra Market, a Russian-language darknet market that was one of the largest in the world.

The increased use of the dark web is also a boon to cyber extortionists, who feed off traffic to their data leak portals and work to build relationships with the mainstream media. So, the takeaway is that you should continue to strengthen your security posture to defend against potential attacks. This simple concept is fundamentally important for maintaining truly private web surfing and communications. For journalists, intelligence agents, and everyday citizens living in oppressive regimes, the dark web is a critical tool for supporting free speech and open access to news. Unfortunately, this same benefit is also useful for criminals, who routinely leverage the dark web to peddle illegal or stolen goods, obtain malware or other malicious tools, and coordinate their nefarious activities.

Almost a year after Hydra’s takedown, five markets—Mega, Blacksprut, Solaris, Kraken and OMG! Market—have emerged as the biggest players based on the volume of offers and the number of sellers. Simon Hendery is a freelance IT consultant specializing in security, compliance, and enterprise workflows. With a background in technology journalism and marketing, he is a passionate storyteller who loves researching and sharing the latest industry developments. The trust matrix was created by ordering the means of the importance of each trust factor.

Conclusion

Darknet markets are a growing problem, and law enforcement agencies around the world are taking action to combat them. With international cooperation and national efforts, police agencies are working together to take down these illegal marketplaces and bring criminals to justice. The exact number of police agencies going after darknet markets is difficult to determine, but it is clear that this is an issue that is being taken seriously by law enforcement agencies around the world.