Category Archives: Dream Market

Operator of bitcoin ‘mixers’ that served dark web markets faces $60 million FinCEN penalty

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The operator of two “mixer” or “tumbler” services that exchanged cryptocurrency for users on “the darkest spaces of the internet” is facing $60 million in civil penalties from the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The decision against Larry Dean Harmon, who operated the services known as Helix from 2014-17 and Coin Ninja from 2017-20, is the first of its kind from FinCEN against a bitcoin mixer. The agency said he failed to register both as money services businesses and violated federal obligations “to develop, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering compliance program; and to meet all applicable reporting and recordkeeping requirements.” More specifically, Harmon failed to file suspicious activity reports for transactions within dark web markets, as required by the Bank Secrecy Act. “Mr. Harmon operated Helix as a bitcoin mixer, or tumbler, and advertised its services in the darkest spaces of the internet as a way for […]

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‘DisrupTor’ dark-web crackdown leads to 179 arrests by international law enforcement

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U.S. and European law enforcement agencies on Tuesday announced the arrest of 179 alleged drug traffickers and the seizure of millions in cash and virtual currencies in one of the largest takedowns of dark-web commerce to date. The crackdown seized more than 1,000 pounds in drugs and targeted an illicit supply chain of opioids, a highly addictive class of drug that has ravaged American lives in recent years. More than two-thirds of the arrests occurred in the U.S., officials said. The alleged drug dealers are accused of advertising on infamous dark-web sites such as AlphaBay and Dream. The takedown — dubbed Operation DisrupTor — involved investigators from Austria, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the U.S. “With the spike in opioid-related overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize that today’s announcement is important and timely,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The FBI will continue to […]

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Dark web marketplaces aren’t the hacker hotbeds they used to be

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Wannabe cybercriminals no longer are relying on dark web marketplaces to buy and sell their hacking tools, it seems. The selection and prices of malicious software offerings on well known dark web markets has remained mostly unchanged since 2017, according to findings published Tuesday by the risk intelligence firm Flashpoint. The mostly stagnant prices on these forums, which are most frequently used to buy and sell narcotics, is the latest proof that, even as cybercriminals continue to harass victims, skilled hackers are moving to more private channels to trade the most valuable techniques, suggested Ian Gray, Flashpoint’s director of analysis and research. The quality of the tools, like commodity malware and distributed denial-of-service rental services, also has remained steady, even as defenses have improved. “There’s a lack of innovation we’re seeing in the kinds of goods and on the marketplaces,” Gray said. “It might be an indication they’re looking at […]

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Corporations beware: Dark web markets are selling tools targeting your accounts

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If a cybercriminal wants to cause trouble for a major corporation, tools for the job are widely available on dark web markets, according to researchers who spent three months analyzing their activity and interacting with sellers. The wares — including malware and leaked credentials — are specifically promoted for breaching companies on the Fortune 500 and the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, according to Mike McGuire, a senior lecturer in criminology at the University of Surrey, and the security vendor Bromium. Their research includes data collected from Empire Market, The Hub, and the now-shuttered Dream and Wall Street markets, among others. The findings come amid a period of heightened law enforcement activity on the dark web, with international police recently seizing a number of sites that primarily sold drugs. Forums where members buy and sell hacking tools and access to breached email accounts have survived the dragnet. The financial sector was the target of most of the […]

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Dark web marketplace Dream Market to close after U.S. police nab suspected vendors

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One of the most popular dark web marketplaces says it will cease operations next month, an announcement that came on the same day international authorities said they’d spent eight months investigating digital drug dens. Dream Market, founded in 2013 and only accessible with anonymity software, has been among the busiest drug sites in operation today, specializing in sales of narcotics as well as stolen data. But administrators announced Tuesday the site is going down on April 30, and moving its files to a “partner service,” according to a screenshot provided by the dark web intelligence company IntSights. With the announcement, Dream Market joins AlphaBay, Hansa and other once-busy drug sites to close up shop. The announcement coincides with announcements from the FBI and Europol that they have arrested 61 people and shut down 50 dark web accounts as part of an international police operation. While it’s not clear if the Dream […]

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Over 92 Million New Accounts Up for Sale from More Unreported Breaches

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All these numbers….

“More than 5 billion records from 6,500 data breaches were exposed in 2018” — a report from Risk Based Security says.

“More than 59,000 data breaches have been reported across the European since the GDPR came into force in 2018” —… Continue reading Over 92 Million New Accounts Up for Sale from More Unreported Breaches→

French Dark-Web Drug Dealer Sentenced to 20 Years in US Prison

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A dark web drugs kingpin who was arrested last year when he arrived in the United States to compete in the World Beard and Mustache Championships has now been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola sentenced 3… Continue reading French Dark-Web Drug Dealer Sentenced to 20 Years in US Prison→

Dark Markets’ Weakness? Cashing out the Bitcoin to USD!

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Over the years there has been an on-going battle between law enforcement and those who use technology-based anonymity to perform their illegal deeds.  Some of the FBI’s tricks to break through the anonymity have created interesting challenges, suc… Continue reading Dark Markets’ Weakness? Cashing out the Bitcoin to USD!→