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Using the alias DeSnake, the former vendor and self-described co-founder of the original AlphaBay now claims to operate the marketplace, placing a higher emphasis on operations security than the previous administration, stating “there is no overkill” regarding the site. AlphaBay reportedly launched in September 2014, pre-launched in November 2014 and officially launched on December 22, 2014. It saw a steady growth, with 14,000 new users in the first 90 days of operation. The darknet informer website Gwern.net placed AlphaBay Market in the top tier of markets regarding the 6-month survival probability and it had proven to be successful. In October 2015, it was recognized as the largest online darknet market according to Dan Palumbo, research director at Digital Citizens Alliance. If you remember, following the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, some cybercriminal forums and marketplaces banned all things ransomware to avoid unwanted law enforcement attention.
- On top of that, DeSnake has announced its intention to make AlphaBay the first decentralized cybercriminal marketplace, i.e., a place where vendors can independently carry out their sales.
- In an extended chat interview, DeSnake tells WIRED how he walked away unscathed from the takedown of AlphaBay, why he has resurfaced now, and what his plans are for the resurrected, once-dominant online black market.
- When WIRED reached out to Justice Department officials, including one who participated in the original investigation of AlphaBay that resulted in its 2017 takedown, they either didn’t respond or declined to comment.
- Monero offers the perfect mix between usability, community support, security and anonimity.
New marketplace categories like Services (programming, graphic design, remote administration, language translation etc.) and Automotive (hacking, parts, keys, exploits etc.) open the space for more opportunities for everyone involved. Privacy has always been important to us that is why all buyer profiles are private by default e.g. buyer information (feedback, feedback % positive, ratings/comments for user by other vendors etc.) is only disclosed to vendor when a buyer is making a purchase. The available information is shown before the vendor accepts the order and not after. Vendors are advised to leave their profile to public to enable customers to make a more informed decision. Over time I tried to deal with the situation as I had seen many arrests of people in the game for over 20 years some with fatal fates but never one where a person was killed in custody by Law Enforcement.
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In cooperation with the FBI, the Royal Thai Police took steps to organize the extradition of the 24-year old Canadian administrator back to the United States. However, after Cazes was held for exactly a week at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau in Bangkok, reports of his apparent suicide surfaced. Bangkok vowed to conduct an autopsy, while US authorities had no interest in verifying the legitimacy of the suspect’s death.
Reputation and credibility are critical drivers for cybercriminal forums and marketplaces. Therefore, it is likely that cybercriminals will inevitably be attracted to at least check out AlphaBay 2.0 and, in some instances, maybe even adopt it as their first choice. Additionally, more legacy members from the original AlphaBay could come back to this new marketplace.
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In early August 2021, DeSnake resurfaced on Dread, the popular Reddit-like discussion forum on the darknet administrated and moderated by users, Hugbunter and Paris. Dread staff “vouched” for DeSnake to skeptical darknet users with DeSnake signing documents using their historical PGP key. Unsurprisingly, another pressing threat for AlphaBay comes from law enforcement.
AlphaBay reported that it serviced more than 200,000 users and 40,000 vendors. By comparison, the Silk Road dark market—the largest such enterprise of its kind before it was shut down in 2013—had approximately 14,000 listings. According to our intelligence, the threat actor claims to have source code for all PilotFish Technology products and has made this available for sale on an underground marketplace called AlphaBay. This particular underground marketplace is available in the TOR network and is actively used by cybercriminals for transacting a variety of illegal goods and services, including stolen digital data. As of the writing of this report, this marketplace has more than 90,000 members. According to theInternational Monetary Fund, global anti-cybercrime outfits will continue to block access to the dark web marketplaces as established in a series of bans, including the AlphaBay marketplace.
By using our marketplace you help fund the development of the Decentralized Market Network. The new AlphaBay market’s Tor service has been unstable since its launch, with frequent 503 errors, user registration issues, and login timeouts. After almost two months of operation, the market has a handful of vendors, with only a couple of hundred listings across drugs and fraud goods.
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AlphaBay admin bragged about a purchase of a Porsche on the Roosh V forum. ‘Criminals cannot hide behind technology to break the law,’ a US attorney stated. When WIRED reached out to Justice Department officials, including one who participated in the original investigation of AlphaBay that resulted in its 2017 takedown, they either didn’t respond or declined to comment. If you’re considering one of our services, want more information, or need assistance, please reach out. Can someone explain how I can get on Alpha Bay and be sure it’s the real site? I read there are a ton of spoofed mirror sites that look exactly like the real one, but you will send your Bitcoin to what you think is a legitimate vendor on Alpha Bay and then you won’t receive the product because you used a duped replica scam site.
One of AlphaBay’s administrators, DeSnake, released a PGP-signed statement on the Dread darknet forum. DeSnake , one of original AlphaBay’s administrators could not help, but bring back to life the former dark web giant. The message contained information about the intended relaunching of AlphaBay marketplace. It would keep the market’s original style and layout, but it would also be much better. AlphaBay only accepts Monero, has strict product restrictions, and doesn’t allow people from certain countries to use it. Apparently, someone claiming to be DeSnake, the original AlphaBay co-founder, security administrator, and moderator, posted a lengthy message informing the darknet community that the marketplace will be making a comeback.
AlphaBay for example, now has their very own Automatic Dispute Resolver system. Still, it heavily focuses on I2P rather than Tor Network basically for security purposes. DeSnake says, according to part of the PGP message he signed, that the reason for returning is not only the poor state of the DNM scene. But other reasons include the lack of quality and professional marketplaces. He says that his main aim is leaving a legacy behind which is worthy of the ‘AlphaBay’ name and one which alpha02 would be proud of. In comparison to other marketplaces, AlphaBay claims to be faster and more secure for all parties involved.
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Moreover, this time around, ransomware selling and discussions will be prohibited as well. Another new system DeSnak claims to have used is the Automatic Dispute Solver to solve buyer/seller issues without the moderator’s intervention. It is estimated that the market transacted at least $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency since its creation. DeSnake says that the new AlphaBay has been built to last, using secure and audited code, bulletproof servers, and safeguards against disruptions caused by hardware failure, police raids, or seizures. For less restricted usage terms, please consider the anonymized version, which is also available without any restrictions.