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The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) is a federal drug enforcement program in the United States, overseen by the Attorney General and the Department of Justice. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the major drug trafficking operations and tackle related crimes, such as money laundering, tax and weapon violations, and violent crime, and prosecute those primarily responsible for the nation's drug supply.
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the United States federal law enforcement agency responsible for investigating potential criminal violations of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes, such as money laundering, currency transaction violations, tax-related identity theft fraud and terrorist financing that adversely affect tax administration. While other federal agencies also have investigative jurisdiction for money laundering and some Bank Secrecy Act violations, IRS-CI is the only federal agency that can investigate potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code, in a manner intended to foster confidence in the tax system and deter violations of tax law. Criminal Investigation is a division of the Internal Revenue Service, which in turn is a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury.
The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) is a section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in charge of investigating computer crime and intellectual property crime. They are additionally responsible for prosecuting privacy invasions by criminals such as hackers, cyberstalkers, and purveyors of mobile spyware, and specializing in the search and seizure of digital evidence in computers and on networks.
Silk Road was an online black market and the first modern darknet market. It was launched in 2011 by its American founder Ross Ulbricht under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts." As part of the dark web, Silk Road operated as a hidden service on the Tor network, allowing users to buy and sell products and services between each other anonymously. All transactions were conducted with bitcoin, a cryptocurrency which aided in protecting user identities. The website was known for its illegal drug marketplace, among other illegal and legal product listings. Between February 2011 and July 2013, the site facilitated sales amounting to 9,519,664 Bitcoins.
The dark web is the World Wide Web content that exists on darknets: overlay networks that use the Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access. Through the dark web, private computer networks can communicate and conduct business anonymously without divulging identifying information, such as a user's location. The dark web forms a small part of the deep web, the part of the web not indexed by web search engines, although sometimes the term deep web is mistakenly used to refer specifically to the dark web.
The 2014 JPMorgan Chase data breach was a cyberattack against American bank JPMorgan Chase that is believed to have compromised data associated with over 83 million accounts—76 million households and 7 million small businesses. The data breach is considered one of the most serious intrusions into an American corporation's information system and one of the largest data breaches in history.
Operation Onymous was an international law enforcement operation targeting darknet markets and other hidden services operating on the Tor network.
AlphaBay was a darknet market operating at different times between September 2014 and February 2023. At times, it was both an onion service on the Tor network and an I2P node on I2P. After it was shut down in July 2017 following law enforcement action in the United States, Canada, and Thailand as part of Operation Bayonet, it was relaunched in August 2021 by the self-described co-founder and security administrator DeSnake. The alleged original founder, Alexandre Cazes, a Canadian citizen born on 19 October 1991, was found dead in his cell in Thailand several days after his arrest, with police suspecting suicide.
TheRealDeal was a darknet website and a part of the cyber-arms industry reported to be selling code and zero-day software exploits.
A darknet market is a commercial website on the dark web that operates via darknets such as Tor and I2P. They function primarily as black markets, selling or brokering transactions involving drugs, cyber-arms, weapons, counterfeit currency, stolen credit card details, forged documents, unlicensed pharmaceuticals, steroids, and other illicit goods as well as the sale of legal products. In December 2014, a study by Gareth Owen from the University of Portsmouth suggested the second most popular sites on Tor were darknet markets.
DeepDotWeb was a news site dedicated to events in and surrounding the dark web featuring interviews and reviews about darknet markets, Tor hidden services, privacy, bitcoin, and related news. The website was seized on May 7, 2019, during an investigation into the owners' affiliate marketing model, in which they received money for posting links to certain darknet markets, and for which they were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. In March 2021 site administrator Tal Prihar pleaded guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Grams is a discontinued search engine for Tor based darknet markets launched in April 2014, and closed in December 2017. The service allowed users to search multiple darknet markets for products like drugs and guns from a simple search interface, and also provided the capability for its users to hide their transactions through its bitcoin tumbler Helix.
Operation Torpedo was a 2011 operation in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) compromised three different hidden services hosting child pornography, which would then target anyone who happened to access them using a network investigative technique (NIT).
Hansa was an online darknet market which operated on a hidden service of the Tor network.
Operation Bayonet was a multinational law enforcement operation culminating in 2017 targeting the AlphaBay and Hansa darknet markets. Many other darknet markets were also shut down.
Dream Market was an online darknet market founded in late 2013. Dream Market operated on a hidden service of the Tor network, allowing online users to browse anonymously and securely while avoiding potential monitoring of traffic. The marketplace sold a variety of content, including drugs, stolen data, and counterfeit consumer goods, all using cryptocurrency. Dream provided an escrow service, with disputes handled by staff. The market also had accompanying forums, hosted on a different URL, where buyers, vendors, and other members of the community could interact. It is one of the longest running darknet markets.
J-CODE, an acronym for Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement, is an FBI operation announced by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on January 29, 2018, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which targets illegal opioid distribution on the Darknet. Given the integrity and robustness of the hidden services of the Tor anonymity network, however, sting operations, the seizure of servers, the tracking of postal deliveries, and in general the exploitation of failures of operational security are expected to be standard operating procedure.
Darknetlive is a news and information site covering darknet markets and other dark web activities.
Operation Dark HunTOR was an international law enforcement operation targeting opioid trafficking and other illegal activities on The Onion Router (TOR). The operation, which was conducted across the United States, Australia, and Europe, over a period of 10 months. In addition Europol released a statement that said the operation was composed of a series of separate but complementary actions in Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, with coordination efforts led by Europol and Eurojust; which greatly expands on the initial number of countries that the US press releases indicated.
Operation SpecTor was an operation coordinated by Europol, which involved nine countries, including the United States, Austria, France, Germany, and the Netherlands to disrupt fentanyl and opioid distribution. The operation targeted and took down the darknet market "Monopoly Market."
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "FBI Director Christopher Wray's Remarks at Press Conference on Operation DisrupTor — FBI". www.fbi.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- 1 2 3 4 5 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-supports-extensive-international-operation-targeting-darknet-opioid
- ↑ "Global police sting against dark net drug sales nets 179". France 24. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- 1 2 3 4 "Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen Delivers Remarks at Announcement of Results of Operation Disruptor". www.justice.gov. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- ↑ Barr, Luke (September 22, 2020). "DOJ announces largest drug, gun and cash seizure in darknet history". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- ↑ Phillips, Kristine. "Operation targeting Darknet drug traffickers nets dozes of arrest worldwide, officials say". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- ↑ Barrett, Brian. "179 Arrested in Massive Global Dark Web Takedown". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028 . Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ↑ Coleman, Justine (2020-09-22). "Authorities arrest 179 in crackdown on opioid trafficking on darknet". The Hill. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- ↑ DeMarco, Jerry (2020-09-22). "Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor". Hackensack Daily Voice. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
