It is estimated that the market transacted at least $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency since its creation. Someone named DeSnake was the other partner, responsible for the security of the market, and was never caught by the police. Unfortunately, DeSnake’s contributions written in a mixture of English and Russian backfired and senior members of XSS berated them for their lack of operational security and inability to properly understand the dynamics of the Russian language. DeSnake joined the conversation, creating an account with his moniker on September 12, 2021 in attempts to mitigate the marketplace’s potential reputation damage.
Just like other darknet markets, the AlphaBay black market used Bitcoin as an anonymous payment method. However, relative to other darknet markets AlphaBay accepted other cryptocurrencies as well. By the time of AlphaBay’s takedown, the platform’s size was ten times larger than that of its predecessor, Silk Road. AlphaBay reported that it serviced more than 200,000 users and 40,000 vendors.
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Dark web buyers and vendors haven’t exactly flocked back to AlphaBay since its return. A few weeks into the relaunch, it has just under 500 listings, compared to more than 350,000 at AlphaBay’s 2017 peak. Those low numbers likely stem from DeSnake’s insistence on accepting only Monero, from skeptical dark web users waiting to see if the new AlphaBay is legitimate, and from a barrage of distributed denial-of-service attacks that have knocked the site offline since its launch. But DeSnake argues that dark web markets typically gain an influx of new users only when another popular market shuts down or is busted by law enforcement; neither has happened since AlphaBay came back.
- The Internet’s largest Dark Web marketplace AlphaBay announced upcoming support for Ethereum, the cryptocurrency that recently is giving Bitcoin a running for today’s most popular digital currency.
- Cazes also possessed millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, which has been seized by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration .
- Other listings – such as doxxing tools, gold, invites to invite-only Genesis marketplace, Binance accounts, password databases, and more.
- Flashpoint researchers note that the rule restricting activity related to former Soviet Union countries is typical for threat actors based in those regions, to avoid scrutiny from local law enforcement.
- In the end, it was all a coincidence, Cazes walked past, and there was no confrontation.
The overt exclusion of CIS countries is peculiar, especially given that DeSnake and alpha02 were openly active in Russian carding communities. Like the historic AlphaBay, the market’s forum is located on the same domain as the market and has limited discussions. Most of the forum is marked private until the user formally introduces themselves in accordance with the rules outlined by DeSnake. There is a “Admin” account as was the case with the historical AlphaBay forum, and DeSnake also has their own personal account. DarkOwl believes this account may be maintained by DeSnake based on the observation that they leave a similar “Thank You.” at the end of every post.
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“This is likely one of the most important criminal investigations of the year – taking down the largest dark net marketplace in history. AlphaBay allowed users to sell and buy opioids, including fentanyl and heroin, contributing to a rising drug epidemic in the United States, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a news briefing in Washington, D.C. Alphabay Market was originally operating from 2014 to 2017 with alpha02 and DeSnake as admins and was the biggest darknet market in history. It was suspected as an exit scam; however, a few days after it had gone offline, it was revealed that AlphaBay had been seized and alpha02, aka Alexander Cazes, was caught. The marketplace has over 8,400 listings and 500 vendors who communicate in English and accept Bitcoin for transactions. Access to AlphaBay ceased at the same time as Mr. Cazes’s arrest, but the authorities did not immediately take credit for the operation, and some AlphaBay administrators said they were working to get the site back up.
He even claims that AlphaGuard will automatically hack other websites and plant data on their servers to give users “withdrawal codes” they can use to save the cryptocurrency they’ve stored on AlphaBay in case of a takedown. “It is a system to ensure users can withdraw funds, settle disputes, and generally go without a cent lost if raids happen,” DeSnake writes, “even if it happens on all servers at the same time. It is unstoppable.” “I am still in disbelief to this day that he had put his personal email on there,” DeSnake says. Okparaeke has been charged with distributing a substance akin to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Authorities accused him of obtaining “fentanyl analogue” from Hong Kong via the mail, repackaging it in smaller quantities, then mailing it to customers who bought his products via underground online markets.
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Our most comprehensive privacy, identity and device protection with $1M ID theft coverage. McAfee + Ultimate Our most comprehensive privacy, identity and device protection with $1M ID theft coverage. At the time, most people who used bitcoin believed it to be anonymous, an untraceable payment method, akin to using unmarked cash bills. The international exercise to seize AlphaBay’s servers also involved authorities in Thailand, Lithuania, Canada, Britain and France. “The takedown of AlphaBay is significant, but it’s a bit of a whac-a-mole,” said Frank Cilluffo, director of the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University. The move struck a blow to an international drug trade that has increasingly moved online in recent years, though some experts thought its impact would be limited.
The police have reportedly seized a total of €400,000, including nearly €100,000 in cash that was discovered hidden behind a spare tire in a garage during the arrest. After nearly a year back online, though, DeSnake says he feels “vindicated,” given that few if any undercover operations have lasted that long. “For majority of vendors and customers the question has been put to rest,” DeSnake says.
Sophos recently reported about a Trojan that installs a Monero mining program called NsCpuCNMiner32.exe on an infected computer and then spreads itself to other computers and FTP sites. Since connected Seagate Central devices have a writable Public folder, many have been compromised by this ransomware. Dutch Police are aggressively going after Dark Web vendors using data they collected from the recently seized Hansa Market. Authorities in Atlanta, Georgia, have filed official charges against Ronald L. Wheeler, III, a 24-year-old Illinois man known mainly for his online persona of Trappy, or Trappy_AB , the official spokesperson for the AlphaBay Dark Web market. 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. DeSnake aims to develop an autonomous and anonymous Decentralized Market Network where anyone can set up a marketplace.
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Hansa Market had about 1,800 vendors selling drugs of all sorts, the Dutch authorities said on Thursday. AlphaBay grew into a business with 200,000 users and 40,000 vendors — or 10 times the size of Silk Road — the Justice Department said Thursday. In the meantime, DeSnake wants to attract users with promises of a still-unproven system he calls AlphaGuard, designed to let users withdraw their funds even if authorities once again seize the servers that run AlphaBay’s infrastructure. Implement NIST’s risk management framework, from defining risks to selecting, implementing and monitoring information security controls.