FBI Seizure, DeepDotWeb Not Accessible
Reports say that DeepDotWeb, the website that contained Dark web-related resources, has been rendered inaccessible following FBI seizure.
DeepDotWeb, which was available in the clear and Dark web, provided aggregated news about cryptocurrency, underground trading etc and also offered lists of underground market places, with hidden URLs. Now, reports say that this website has been taken down as part of a seizure by the FBI.
Cybersecurity journalist Charlie Osborne, who has filed a report on this incident on ZDNet, observes, “It is quite common for Dark web marketplaces and criminal trading hotspots to be taken down by law enforcement, but it is unusual for websites which contain Dark web – related resources to be seized in the same way…However, in DeepDotWeb’s case, this appears to be precisely what has taken place. ”
“At the time of writing, DeepDotWeb is not accessible beyond a domain seizure notice,” Charlie Osborne adds, in her report dated May 8, 2019.
The ZDNet report says that according to the posted notice, the FBI has taken down DeepDotWeb pursuant to “a seizure warrant obtained by the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the Organized Crime and Gang Section.” It’s also stated that as per the message, the FBI seizure had the involvement of European law enforcement agencies as well; they coordinated through Europol. Certain laws relating to money laundering- 18 USC 1956(h), 981, and 982- are reportedly mentioned in the notice.
The Times of Israel, in a report dated May 7, 2019, has stated that two Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the running of DeepDotWeb, which, according to the report that quotes authorities, is “the so-called dark web that facilitated the purchase of weapons, drugs and other contraband.”
The report says, “As part of an international operation targeting the dark web, FBI investigators working with multiple countries brought about the arrest of several individuals suspected of managing the Deepdotweb site, which referred users to darknet sites where they could buy weaponry, drugs, stolen credit card information and more…Arrests were made in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil and Israel — where police tracked down and on Monday arrested a 35-year-old resident of Tel Aviv and a 34-year-old resident of Ashdod.”
The administrators of DeepDotWeb, as per reports, had made millions of dollars in commission through darknet referrals.
News of the DeepDotWeb seizure follows another operation involving law enforcement agencies from Germany, the Netherlands, the U.S. and France, who worked together with Europol to seize the servers of the so-called “Wall Street Market” darknet platform and to arrest three suspects as well. Another darknet marketplace, Silkkitie, too has been closed down, as per reports.
Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/deepdotweb-dies-with-fbi-seizure/
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